“The Merry-Go-Round,” Friend, July 1984, 30–32
The Merry-Go-Round
Summer is great to go visit the beaches,
To eat pink ice-cream cones, ripe berries, and peaches.
Summer is time to decide what to do.
Shall we choose the seashore, the circus, or zoo?
No!
Let’s find something round with a musical sound.
Let’s ride on a musical merry-go-round!
A musical merry-go-round.
Do you know the sound of the merry-go-round,
The glittering, blittering, flittering sound,
The sound of the merry-go-round?
I’ve a magical ring. When I wear it, of course,
I can do anything with my magical horse.
I pretend I am galloping over the plain.
I pretend I am riding to castles in Spain.
Do you know the sound of the merry-go-round,
The trumpeting, thumpeting, clumpeting sound,
The glittering, blittering, flittering sound,
The sound of the merry-go-round?
The horses go ‘round like a circus parade.
The ticket man’s top hat is trimmed with gold braid.
My horse has a saddle as blue as the sky.
He tosses his head as we go prancing by.
Do you know the sound of the merry-go-round,
The um-pa-pa, um-pa-pa, um-pa-pa sound,
The trumpeting, thumpeting, clumpeting sound,
The glittering, blittering, flittering sound,
The sound of the merry-go-round?
The first horse is purple, the second is red;
The third horse has gorgeous green eyes in her head.
The fourth horse is yellow with pale flaxen mane.
She might try to buck; you should hold a tight rein.
The lavender horse is the fifth horse in line.
The sixth horse is black, and I wish he were mine!
So many bright horses go whirling around
And ‘round and around on the merry-go-round.
Do you know the sound of the merry-go-round,
The swirl-around, whirl-around, twirl-around sound,
The um-pa-pa, um-pa-pa, um-pa-pa sound,
The trumpeting, thumpeting, clumpeting sound,
The glittering, blittering, flittering sound,
The sound of the merry-go-round?
The music gets slower and slower until
It is time to get off and the music is still.
But the music restarts from the organ inside,
So I’ll buy a new ticket and have one more ride.
Swirl-around, whirl-around, twirl-around ride,
Um-pa-pa, um-pa-pa, um-pa-pa ride,
Trumpeting, thumpeting, clumpeting ride,
Glittering, blittering, flittering ride,
A RIDE ON THE MERRY-GO-ROUND!
Illustrated by Dick Brown