Kids Music Notes

Alright…”The Peppermint Pony” is just a little closer to coming out of the gate.

We have the finishing touch to the second verse. Michelle came up with this one, and I think it really shows some good feel for the beat of the rest of the lyrics. Nice going, Michelle.

I’ll put in the words to the new tune just below, but first I’d like to wish everyone a happy and blessed Thanksgiving Day this Thursday. I hope you’ll be careful. Don’t become a statistic. Enjoy the good company of family, friends, and food. Be thankful we live in a free country where we can still celebrate to the point of having leftovers for a week.

And take the time to tell others how much you’re thankful for them. I’m thankful to all of you who read these emails and tune contest posts. I’ll talk to you soon.

Stay tuned…(keep reading…the words to the new tune are just below)

I cast my gaze to the bright sky
That slowly fades into the night sky.
Stars like sparkling candy twinkle in my mind’s eye.

My pony’s red with a white stripe.
We’re riding down through a snow pipe.
Snowflakes flicker around me; the weather is just my type.

Yeah…the classic line for a kid when asked what they want for their birthday is “I want a pony.”

And I want a Peppermint Pony. Good news is…we now have 2 more lines. I guess you’re all really shy about adding to the lyrics. Even the ones who’ve sent in lines say they don’t want their name shown. I’ll respect that, but you’re doing a great job. I think you ought to let everyone know. Besides I’m gonna be giving MP3’s and a CD away. I’ll have to talk about winners.

Seriously…thanks to everyone who’s been a part so far. But we’ve still got a way to go. I’ll need another line for the second verse, and then we’ll make the chorus. I think it’s shaping up nicely. Maybe if you think about Christmas and sugar plum fairies some other lines and word pictures will dance in your head. Send ‘em on.

Here are the lines up to the point we’ve reached so far…

I cast my gaze to the bright sky
That slowly fades into the night sky.
Stars like sparkling candy twinkle in my mind’s eye.

My pony’s red with a white stripe.
We’re riding down through a snow pipe.

I realize the 3rd line of the second verse will be hard, but you can do it. Send me something to rhyme with stripe and pipe. And remember…we’re building toward the chorus. Let ‘er rip.

Stay tuned,

While I’m deliberating the entries for the next line to the tune “Peppermint Pony”, I’m gonna drop in some lyrics to another one of my CD’s of tunes for kids. These are the words to a tune called “Don’t”. It’s on the “Kiddin’ Around” CD.

A lot of moms and dads have told me their kids love this tune because it’s so “goofy”. Since they said they love it…I’m guessing goofy is good.

Anyway…here are the words.

“Don’t”
Don’t grab a tiger by the tail…don’t go dancin with a whale.
Don’t rub elbows with a snake…don’t eat corn flakes with a rake.
Don’t hold lightning in your hand…don’t stick your head down in the sand.
Don’t chew gum that’s full of rocks…and don’t go chasin’ chicken pox.

Don’t put your knee inside your ear…don’t just whisper when you cheer.
Don’t try to make a monkey shine…don’t say that two and two is nine.
Don’t fly and eat the cheesy moon…don’t build a snowman when it’s June
Don’t leave your ice cream in the sun…and don’t have fun unless it’s fun

Don’t leap a lizard in your bed…don’t put a boulder on your head.
Don’t drink a cola up your nose…don’t set a building on your toes.
Don’t pull a rainbow from the sky…don’t keep an apple in your eye.
Don’t make mistakes unless you’re wrong…and don’t pay attention to this song.

© Copyright Tony Funderburk 2007

Stay tuned,

Now we have 3 lines for the new tune “The Peppermint Pony”.

Here they are:

I cast my gaze to the bright sky
That slowly fades into the night sky.
Stars like sparkling candy twinkle in my mind’s eye.

Guess what…I already have a working tune to go with the lyrics. So who wants to jump in with the next line? As the song is forming it’ll be 3 lines like those above to make one verse. Now we need to start the next verse. If you read what’s there so far, the lead person is outside, looking up, and comparing stars to candy.

What do you think ought to happen next to get us closer to the peppermint pony?

Maybe the person in the tune can start looking all around to see other things that resemble other kinds of candy. Or maybe the journey seems slow as molasses. Send me your thoughts. Remember, you can’t win free MP3’s or a CD if you don’t play. So comment here on this post with some lyrics, or you can even email me. Send your words or ideas to tony@tonofuntunes.com

I’d like to start the second verse and then go on to the really fun part…the chorus.

Tune up with

Hey everybody…Tony here.

Happy Veteran’s Day. If you haven’t already done so, and if you know a veteran or know of a veteran, please remember to thank him/her for their service. Thanks to them we can have our little tune contests, internet marketing plans, product launches, social media lunches, and so many other things we take for granted with our freedom.

OK…that being said; it’s time to add the third line to the current lullabye “The Peppermint Pony”. Just as a side note…I found out there’s a band out there called The Peppermint Pony. Chalk it up to the fact that there’s really nothing “new under the sun”.

So to recap: Our first two lines we’ve gotten so far are

I cast my gaze to the bright sky
That slowly fades into the night sky.

I’ve gotten some interesting ideas from readers but only one new line has been introduced. Remember, you need to send me an actual line you think will fit into the next part of our lullabye. So, Ryan wrote a nice line in his last comment, and unless someone else comes up with something they’d like to insert, I’ll add it. You have 2 more days to tell me something else. His suggestion for the next line is:

“Stars like sparkling candy twinkle in my mind’s eye.”

So…send in the lines. Let your imaginations flow freely. I’d love to see what you can come up with. Let’s kick this tune contest up a little. Sound good? Before you know it we’ll have a cool CD of tunes for kids where you’ll get your name in the credits. What could be more fun?

Thanks for your support,

OK…we finally have a second line to our new tune “The Peppermint Pony”.

You guys need to jump right in. Don’t be shy. I know you’ve got some words just ready to pop out of you. Don’t hold ‘em back. There’s no wrong words…only words that fit or don’t fit into the theme. Remember; we’re looking for a lullabye with a “western” feel.

So think about cactus, cowpokes, barns, pastures, saddles, spurs, and so on. And since the tune is about a peppermint pony think about candy, sugar, mints…You know what I mean.

Now here are the first two lines of the first verse:

I cast my gaze to the bright sky
That slowly fades into the night sky.

Let’s write one of those nice tunes for kids that’ll trot ‘em off to sleep with dreamy images and soothing music. Send in the words, ya’ll.

Lyrically yours,

Alright…it seems like everyone’s shy about getting started. But there was a bold writer who plunged in words first and submitted a couple of verses. We’ll be working on one line at a time, so I won’t use all the words he submitted. (You can read the rest of them here) Still; I am gonna take one of his lines to “prime the pump”. The first line of this new tune will be:

I cast my gaze to the bright sky

Now…we need the next line. Maybe you could make a comparison between the bright sky and the night sky. Or maybe you could talk about something in the sky. (moon, sun, stars, clouds, rainbow) Keep in mind it’s a lullabye, and try to make the words and ideas match. And remember we’re singing about the peppermint pony.

Don’t be shy. This isn’t English class. It’s songwritin’. Have fun. Dare to dive in. Bring it on.

Lyrically yours,

Well, I said I’d start the tune contest when I had at least 20 people entered and no more than 100.

It’s time to get started. Remember your chances of winning free MP3’s and even a total CD improve with every line you contribute that’s included in the new tune. So be imaginative. Be prolific. Be present and accounted for.

OK. You ready? Great! You’ll need a theme, and I’ve got one for you. Here’s the key…the new CD is gonna be totally lullabies. Yep. Nothing else but lovely, little lullabies. You wouldn’t believe the amount of requests I’ve had to produce a CD like this. It’s amazing but true. So we’re gonna work on creating some soothing tunes for kids who need or like to be gently sung to sleep.

This first tune will be a Western theme. So, whether you remember Howdy Doody, Roy Rogers, & Sky King, or your memory is geared more toward “Urban Cowboy” and Woody from “Toy Story”, I want you to send me some gentle Western sounding lyrics. The title for our first tune will be…

“The Peppermint Pony”

© Ton-O-Fun Tunes 2008

So, put on them sparklin’ spurs, don that wide-brimmed brainstormin’ hat, and write some lyrics, ya’ll. If you’re readin’ this, and you haven’t entered…it’s not too late. You can enter at any time by finding one of the orange buttons on this page and clickin’ it. Then you can register with your first name and email and join right in.

If you’d like to enter but you don’t want to subscribe, just post a comment. You’ll still be eligible. You just won’t get advance notices of how everything’s going. And in the meantime…I’ll be wishin’ you a smooth day, a blue sky, and a cold drink.

Happy trails,