Lyrics for singles by noname

A Noun is a Person, Place, or Thing
Busy Prepositions
Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla
Unpack Your Adjectives
Verb: That's What's aHappenin'
Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here
Conjunction Junction
Interjections!
The Tale of Mister Morton
__ARTIST Schoolhouse Rock


A Noun is a Person, Place, or Thing

Well every person you can know
And every place that you can go
And anything that you can show
You know they're nouns

A noun's a special kind of word
It's any name you ever heard
I find it quite interesting
A noun's a person, place, or thing

Oh I took a train, took a train to another state
The flora and the fauna that I saw were really great
When I saw some bandits chasin' the train
I was wishin' I was back home again
I took a train, took a train to another state

Well, every person you can know (like a bandit or an engineer)
And every place that you can go (like a state or a home)
And anything that you can show (like animals and plants or a train)
You know they're nouns - you know they're nouns, oh...

Mrs. Jones is a lady on Hudson Street
She sent her dog to bark at my brother and me
We gave her dog a big fat bone
And now he barks at Mrs. Jones
She's a lady who lives on Hudson Street

Well, every person you can know (Mrs. Jones, a lady, or a brother)
And every place that you can go (like a street or a corner)
And anything that you can show (like a dog or a bone)
You know they're nouns - you know they're nouns, oh...

I took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty
My best friend was waitin' there for me (He took an early ferry)
We went for a walk on the island you know
And in the middle of summer it started to snow
When I took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty

Well every person you can know (like a friend or the captain of a ship)
And every place that you can go (An island or a sea)
And anything that you can show (like a statue, a ferry, or snow)
You know they're nouns - you know they're nouns

Oh, I put a dime in the drugstore record machine
Oldies goldies started playing if you know what I mean
I heard Chubby Checker, he was doin' the twist
And the Beatles and the Monkees, it goes like this!
I put a dime in the drugstore record machine

Well every person you can know (The Beatles and the Monkees, Chubby Checker)
And every place that you can go (like a neighborhood or a store)
And anything that you can show (like a dime or a record machine)
You know they're nouns

A noun's a special kind of word
It's any name you ever heard
I find it quite interesting
A noun's a person, place, or thing

A noun is a person, place or thing
(doodle, doodleh; doodle doodleh...)




Busy Prepositions

Like a butterfly, or a like bee
Like an ant, as busy as can be
These little words we call the "busy P's"
Prepositions

Nine or ten of them
Do most all of the work
Of, on, to, with, in, from
By, for, at, over, across
And many others do their jobs
Which is simply to connect
Their noun or pronoun object
To some other word in the sentence.

Busy p's
If you please.
"On the top is where you are!"
Top relates to where you are.
"With a friend you'll travel far!"
With a friend you'll go.
"If you try you know that you can fly
Over the rainbow!"
Over the rainbow is where you can fly.

Busy prepositions
Always on the go.
Like a bunch of busy bees
Floating pollen on the breeze.
Buzzing over the meadows
Beyond the forest
Through the trees
In to the beehive.
Busy, busy P's
In, to, beyond, over, on, through!

Busy prepositions always out in front
On the edges, in the crack.
'Round the corner, from the back.
In between the action.
Stating clearly to your satisfaction
The location and direction.
Prepositions give specific information.

Though little words they are
They never stand alone
Gathering words behind them
You soon will see how they have grown
Into a parade; a prepositional phrase.
With a noun, or at least a pronoun, bringing up the rear.
A little phrase of two or three or four or more words.

Prepositions! Attention! Forward, March!
Busy prepositions
Always on the march.
Like a horde of solider ants
Inching bravely forward on the slimmest chance
That they might better their positions.
Busy, busy prepositions.
In the air, on the ground, everywhere.

The sun sank lower in the west.
"In the west it sank."
And it will rise in the morning
And will bring the light of day;
We say the sun comes up in the east every day!
"In the east it rises."

Busy prepositions
Busy, busy, busy!
On the top is where you are!
On the top.
If you try you know that you can fly!
Fly where?
Over the rainbow.




Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla

Now, I have a friend named Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla
And I could say that Rufus found a kangaroo
That followed Rufus home
And now that kangaroo belongs
To Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla.

Whew! I could say that, but I don't have to
'Cause I got pronouns
I can say, "HE found a kangaroo that followed HIM home and now IT is HIS"

You see, (uh) HE, HIM, and HIS are pronouns
Replacing the noun
Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla
A very proper noun.
And IT is a pronoun, replacing the noun, kangaroo! (How common!)

Now Rufus has a sister named Rafaella Gabriela Sarsaparilla.
If she found a kangaroo I'd say to you:
"SHE found a kangaroo that followed HER home, and now it is HERS."
But I can't say that...
'Cause she found an aardvark
That fell in love with HER and THEY're so happy.

And my name's Albert Andreas Armadillo.
(No relation to the Sarsaparillas.)
Because of pronouns, I can say:
"I wish SHE would find a rhinoceros for ME, and WE'd be happy."
You see, a pronoun was made to take the place of a noun
'Cause saying all those nouns over and over
Can really wear you down!

Now I could tell you Rafaella Gabriela and Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla
and Albert Andreas Armadillo found an aardvark, a kangaroo, and a rhinoceros.
And now that aardvark and that kangaroo and that rhinoceros belong respectively
to Rafaella Gabriela Sarsaparilla and Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla and Albert Andreas Armadillo!

Whew! Because of pronouns I can say, in this way:
"WE found THEM and THEY found US, and now THEY are OURS and WE're so happy." Thank you pronoun!

You see a pronoun was made to take the place of a noun
'Cause saying all those nouns over and over
Can really wear you down.

Sometimes, when we take 'em all on the bus
People really raise a fuss.
They start shouting out a lot o' pronouns at us, like
"WHO brought that rhinoceros on this bus?" and
"WHAT made that horrible noise?" and
"WHICH one of them is getting off first?"

WHO, WHAT, and WHICH are special pronouns that can ask a question
In a sentence where you do not know the name of the noun
But I know:
I have MINE, and SHE has HERS
and he has his. Do YOU have YOURS?
THEY love US, and WE love THEM
WHAT's OURS is THEIRS--
That's how it is with friends
And pronouns, you are really friends, yeah!

'Cause saying all those nouns over and over
Can really wear you down




Unpack Your Adjectives

Got home from camping last spring
Saw people, places and things
We barely had arrived
Friends asked us to describe
The people, places and every last thing
So we unpacked our adjectives

I unpacked "frustrating" first
Reached in and found the word "worst"
Then I picked "soggy" and
Next I picked "foggy" and
Then I was ready to tell them my tale
'Cause I'd unpacked my adjectives

Adjectives are words you use to really describe things
Handy words to carry around
Days are sunny or they're rainy
Boys are dumb or else they're brainy
Adjectives can show you which way

Adjectives are often used to help us compare things
To say how thin, how fat, how short, how tall
Girls who are tall can get taller
Boys who are small can get smaller
Till one is the tallest
And the other's the smallest of all

We hiked along without care
Then we ran into a bear
He was a hairy bear
He was a scary bear
We beat a hasty retreat from his lair
And described him with adjectives

[Turtle, spoken:] Whoah! Boy! That was one big, ugly bear!

[Girl, spoken:] You can even make adjectives out of the other parts of speech, like verbs or nouns. All you have to do is tack on an ending like "-ic" or "-ish" or "-ary". For example, this boy can grow up to be a huge man — but still have a boyish face. "Boy" is a noun, but the ending "-ish" makes it an adjective - boyish. That describes the huge man's face, get it?

[Sung:]
Next time you go on a trip
Remember this little tip:
The minute you get back
They'll ask you this and that
You can describe people, places and things...
Simply unpack your adjectives
You can do it with adjectives
Tell them 'bout it with adjectives
You can shout it with adjectives




Verb: That's What's aHappenin'

I get my thing in action (Verb!)
To be, to sing, to feel, to live (Verb!)
(That's what's happenin')

I put my heart in action (Verb!)
To run, to go, to get, to give (Verb!)
(You're what's happenin')

That's where I find satisfaction, yeah! (Yeah!)
To search, to find, to have, to hold
(Verb! To be bold)
When I use my imagination (Verb!)
I think, I plot, I plan, I dream
Turning in towards creation (Verb!)
I make, I write, I dance, I sing
When I'm feeling really active (Verb!)
I run, I ride, I swim, I fly!
Other times when life is easy
(Oh!) I rest, I sleep, I sit, I lie.

(Verb! That's what's happenin')
I can take a noun and bend it,
Give me a noun -
(Bat, boat, rake, and plow)
Make it a verb and really send it!
(Show me how)
Oh, I don't know my own power. (Verb!)

I get my thing in action (Verb!)
In being, (Verb!) In doing, (Verb!)
In saying
A verb expresses action, being, or state of being. A verb makes a statement. Yeah, a verb tells it like it is!

(Verb! That's what's happenin'.)
I can tell you when it's happenin',
(Past, present, future tense)
Ooh! Tell you more about what's happenin',
(Say it so it makes some sense)
I can tell you who is happenin'!
(Verb, you're so intense)
Every sentence has a subject.
(Noun, person, place, or thing)
Find that subject: Where's the action?
(Verb can make a subject sing)
Take the subject: What is it? (What!)
What's done to it? (What!)
What does it say?
(Verb, you're what's happenin')

I can question like: What is it?
(Verb, you're so demanding.)
I can order like: Go get it!
(Verb, you're so commanding.)
When I hit I need an object
(Verb, hit! Hit the ball!)
When I see, I see the object
(Do you see that furthest wall?)

If you can see it there, put the ball over the fence, man!
Go ahead. Yeah, alright.
What?! He hit it. It's going, it's going, it's gone!
(What!)

I get my thing in action.
(Verb, that's what's happenin')
To work, (Verb!)
To play, (Verb!)
To live, (Verb!)
To love... (Verb!...)




Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here

Hmmmmm... hmmmmm... hmmmmm!!!

Ready pop?
Yep.
Ready son?
Uh-huh.
Let's go!
Let's go!
One! two!

Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, get your adverbs here.
Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, got some adverbs here.
Come on down to Lolly's, get the adverbs here!
You're going to need
If you write or read
Or even think about it.

Lolly Lolly Lolly, get your adverbs here.
Got a lot of lolly, jolly adverbs here.
Anything you need and we can make it absolutely clear...

An adverb is a word
(That's all it is! and there's a lot of them)
That modifies a verb
(Sometimes a verb and sometimes)
It modifies an adjective, or else another adverb
And so you see that it's positively, very, very, necessary.

Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, get your adverbs here.
Father, son, and Lolly selling adverbs here.
Got a lot of adverbs, and we make it clear
So come to Lolly! (Lolly, Lolly, Lolly)

Hello, folks, this is Lolly, Sr., saying we have every adverb in the book, so come on down and look.

Hello folks, Lolly, Jr. here. Suppose your house needs painting -- how are you going to paint it? That's where the adverb comes in. We can also give you a special intensifier so you can paint it very neatly or rather sloppily.

Hi! Suppose you're going nut-gathering; your buddy wants to know where and when. Use an adverb and tell him!

Get your adverbs!

Use it with an adjective, it says much more
Anything described can be described some more.
Anything you'd ever need is in the store
And so you choose very carefully every word you use.

Use it with a verb, it tells us how you did
Where it happened, where you're going, where you've been.
Use it with another adverb -- that's the end.
And even more...

How, where, or when
Condition or reason
These questions are answered
When you use an adverb.

Come and get it!

Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, get your adverbs here.
Quickly, quickly, quickly, get those adverbs here.
Slowly, surely, really learn your adverbs here.
You're going need 'em if you read 'em
If you write or talk or think about 'em ... Lolly! (Lolly, Lolly, Lolly)

Announcer: If it's an adverb, we have it at Lolly's! Bring along your old adjectives, too - like slow, soft, and sure. We'll fit 'em out with our L-Y attachment and make perfectly good adverbs out of them!

(Get your adverbs here!) Lots of good tricks at Lolly's so come on down.

(Lolly, Lolly, Lolly!)

Adverbs deal with manner, place, time

(Lolly, Lolly, Lolly!)

Condition, reason

(Father, son, and Lolly)

Comparison, contrast

(Lolly, Lolly, Lolly)

Enrich your language with adverbs!

(Lolly, Lolly, Lolly)

Besides, they're absolutely free!

(Lolly, Lolly, Lolly)

At your service!

Indubitably!




Conjunction Junction

Conjunction Junction, what's your function?
Hooking up words and phrases and clauses
Conjunction Junction, how's that function?
I've got three favorite cars that get most of my job done
Conjunction Junction, what's their function?
I got and, but and or, that'll get you pretty far
And, that's an additive
Like this and that
But..that's sort of the opposite
Not this, but that
and then there's or..o-r
When you have a choice like this or that

"And", "but", and "or" get you pretty far

Conjunction Junction what's your function?
Hooking up two boxcars and making them run right
Milk and Honey, Bread and Butter, Peas and Rice (hey that's nice)
Dirty but happy, digging and scratching, losing your shoe
and a button or two
He's poor but honest, sad but true...boohooo hooo

Conjunction Junction, what's your function?
Hooking up two cars to one when you say something like this choice.
Either now or later...or no choice
Neither now nor ever..(hey that's clever)
Eat this or that
Grow thin or fat
Never mind I wouldn't do that i'm fat enough now

Conjunction Junction, what's your function?
Hooking up phrases and clauses that balance like
Out of the frying pan and into the fire
He cut lose the sandbag but the balloon wouldn't go any higher.
Let's go up to the mountains or down to the seas.
you should always say thank you or at least say please....

Conjunction Junction, what's your function?
hooking up words and phrases and clauses and complex sentences like..
In the mornings when I'm usually wide awake
I love to take a walk through the gardens and down by the lake
where I often see a duck and a drake
And, I wonder as I walk by just what they'd say, if they could speak?
Although, I know, that's an absurd thought

Conjunction Junction, what's your function?
Hooking up cars and making em function
Conjunction Junction, how's that function?
I like tying up words and phrases and clauses
Conjunction Junction, watch that function.
I'm going to get you there if you're very careful
Conjunction Junction, what's your function?
I'm going to get you there if you're very careful
Conjunction Junction, what's your function?
I'm going to get you there if you're very careful....




Interjections!

(cough) (cough) (cough)
When Reginald was home with flu ah-aa
The doctor knew just what to do-hoo
He cured the infection
With one small injection
while Reginald uttered some interjections.

"Hey! That smarts!"
"Ouch! That hurts"
"Yow! That's not fair, giving a guy a shot down there!"

Interjections (hey!) show excitement (Yow!) or emotion, (Ouch!)

they're generally set apart from a sentence by an exclamation point
or by a comma when the feelings not as strong.

Though Geraldine played hard to get uh-uhuh
Geraldo knew he'd whoo her ye-het
he showed his affection
despite her objections
and Geraldine hollered some interjections.

"Well! You've got some nerve!"
"Oh! I've never been so insulted in my life!"
"Hey, you're kind of cute!"

Interjections (Well!) show excitement (Oh!) or emotion, (Hey!)
they're generallly apart from a sentence
by an exclamation point
or by a comma when the feelings not as strong.

So when you're happy "Hurray!" or sad "Aw!"
or frightened "eek!" or mad "rats!"
or excited "Wow!" or glad "Hey!"
an interjection starts a sentence right.

The game was tied at 7- all uh-uh
when Franklin found he had the ba-hall
he made a connection, in the other direction
and the crowd started shouting out interjections.

"Aww! You threw the wrong way"
"Darn! You just lost the game"
"Hurray! I'm for the other team"

Interjections (Aww!) show excitement (Darn!) or emotion, (Hurray!)
they're generally set apart from a sentence by an exclamation point
or by a comma when the feelings not as strong.

So when you're happy "Hurray!" or sad "Aw!"
or frightened "eek!" or mad "rats!"
or excited "Wow!" or glad "Hey!"
an interjection starts a sentence right.

Interjections,HEY! show excitement,HEY! or emotion Hey!
they're generally set apart from a sentence by an exclamation point
or by a comma when the feelings not as strong.

Interjections, show excitement or emotions
Hallelujah, hallelujah, halleluujahhyaahhhhhhh

DARN! That's the end!




The Tale of Mister Morton

This is the tale of Mister Morton
Mister Morton is who?
He is the subject of our tale
and the predicate tells what Mister Morton must do

Mister Morton walked down the street
Mister Morton walked
Mister Morton talked to his cat
Mister Morton talked
(Hello, cat. You look good.)
Mister Morton was lonely
Mister Morton was

Mister Morton is the subject of the sentence, and what the predicate says, he does.

Mister Morton knew just one girl
Mister Morton knew
Mister Morton grew flowers for Pearl
Mister Morton grew
Mister Morton was very shy
Mister Morton was

Mister Morton is the subject of the sentence, and what the predicate says, he does

The subject is a noun
that's a person, place or thing
It's who or what the sentence is about
And the predicate is the verb
That's the action word
that gets the subject up and out

Mister Morton wrote Pearl a poem
Mister Morton wrote
Pearl replied in the afternoon
Pearl replied by a note
Mister Morton was very nervous
Mister Morton was

Mister Morton is the subject of the sentence, and what the predicate says, he does.

The cat stretched
the sun beat down
a neighbor chased his kid.
(Come here kid - come on!)
Each sentence is completed when
you know what the subject did.

Mister Morton knocked on her door
Mister Morton knocked
Mister Morton sat on her porch
Yes, he just sat there and rocked.
Mister Morton was a nervous man;
when she opened up the door, he ran.

Mister Morton climbed up his stairs
Mister Morton climbed
Mister Morton rhymed pretty words
Mister Morton rhymed
Mister Morton was lonely
Mister Morton was
until . . .
Pearl showed up with a single rose.
Who says women can't propose?
Now Mister Morton is happy
and Pearl and the cat are too
They're the subjects of the sentence and what the predicate says, *they* do!