Glad to See You Little Bird
Glad to See You Little Bird
Folk Song
Glad to see you, little bird,
Tra la la, tra la la
What, did you intend to say?
Tra la la la la
You need something this cold day?
Tra la la, tra la la
There's your breakfast, eat away.
Tra la la la la.
Come to see me every day.
Tra la la, tra la la
There's your breakfast, eat away.
Tra la la la la
Thomas says you steal his wheat,
Tra la la, tra la la
John complains his plums you eat.
Tra la la la la.
But I will not try to know
Tra la la, tra la la
What you did so long ago
Tra la la la la
There's your dinner eat away,
Tra la la, tra la la
Come to see me every day.
Tra la la la la.
Notes
A longer version of this song can be found in print as far back as 1863.
The version below can be found in "The School Room Chorus" (1890) by C.W. Bardeen. B with the addition of the 2nd to last verse from the 1863 version:
The Sparrow
Glad to see you, little bird,
'Twas your pretty chirp I heard;
What, did you intend to say?
"Give me something this cold day."
That I will, and plenty too;
All these crumbs I saved for you;
Don't be frightened, here's a treat;
I will wait and see you eat.
Shocking tales I hear of you;
Chirp, and tell me, are they true?
Robbing all the summer long:
Don't you think it very wrong?
Thomas says you steal his wheat,
John complains his plums you eat,
Choose the ripest for your share,
Never asking whose they are.
Yet you seem an honest bird;
And I may also say I've heard:
That insects, grubs, and worms you eat,
And other things that spoil the wheat.
So I will not try to know
What you did so long ago;
There's your breakfast, eat away,
Come and see me every day.
Thanks!
Thanks and Acknowledgements
The score comes from "The School Room Chorus" (1890) by C.W. Bardeen.
This song can be found on the Library of Congress' site as sung by the McDonald Family in Alabama in 1939.
