Dept. of That's Not How That Song Goes

So when Sterling was very little, Lisa went to Gymboree with him, and they have all sorts of songs there, most of which are public-domain songs rewritten with Gymboree-specific lyrics. The one that made me laugh and wince at the same time was:

Swing low… sweet baby-o… havin’ fun at Gymboree…

Nowadays we take Sterling to Music Together. Which is great, and he really enjoys it, and our teacher is fabulous. Sterling always asks to hear the CD of the current Music Together term’s songs in the car. Except the latest one includes an adaptation of Child ballad #26, “The Three Ravens.” The first verse is basically identical to the traditional version. Then the second verse starts “There were three squirrels sat on a tree…” Then “three kitty-cats,” and finally “three children sat on a tree/They were as happy as happy might be.”

That is really, really not how that song goes.

(There’s a variant of it, “Twa Corbies,” which was covered as a hard-rock riff thingie back in 1995 by Yona-Kit, the band that consisted of Brise-Glace with K.K. Null; here is the eMusic page for their album.)