The Littlest Birds Sing the Prettiest Songs

Folk Music Illustrated by Jennie Smith

Jennie Smith

• Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780811875097
• eBook ISBN: 9781452113746
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Art General

Our love affair with folk songs runs as deep as the enduring power of music, nature, creativity, and the longings of the human heart. Artist Jennie Smith celebrates the tradition with her illustrated renderings of thirteen soulful songs, including time-honored Scottish ballads, classics by the likes of the Carter Family, contemporary favorites by Gillian Welch, and more. Smith's art—hopeful, sincere, and delicate—adds an unexpected and charming dimension to a familiar genre. With a foreword from contemporary folk legend Michael Hurley, complete lyrics, and playable tablature or sheet music for each song, this is a keepsake collection for the whole family to treasure.

“AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND”

By William Jerome and Harry Von Tilzer

There was a tree

All in the wood

The prettiest tree

That you ever did see

Now the tree in a hole

And the hole in the ground

And the green grass grows all around, all around

The green grass grows all around

And on that tree

There was a limb

The prettiest limb

That you ever did see

Now the limb on the tree,

And the tree in a hole,

And the hole in the ground

And the green grass grows all around, all around

And the green grass grows all around.

And on that limb

There was a branch

The prettiest branch

That you ever did see

Now the branch on the limb,

And the limb on the tree,

And the tree in a hole,

And the hole in the ground

And the green grass grows all around, all around

And the green grass grows all around.

And on that branch

There was a nest

The prettiest nest

That you ever did see

Now the nest on the branch,

And the branch on the limb,

And the limb on the tree,

And the tree in a hole,

And the hole in the ground

And the green grass grows all around, all around

And the green grass grows all around.

And in that nest

There was an egg

The prettiest egg

That you ever did see

Now the egg in the nest,

And the nest on the branch,

And the branch on the limb,

And the limb on the tree,

And the tree in a hole,

And the hole in the ground

And the green grass grows all around, all around

And the green grass grows all around.

And in that egg

There was a bird

The prettiest bird

That you ever did see

Now the bird in the egg,

And the egg in the nest,

And the nest on the branch,

And the branch on the limb,

And the limb on the tree,

And the tree in a hole,

And the hole in the ground

And the green grass grows all around, all around

And the green grass grows all around.

And on that bird

There was a wing

The prettiest wing

That you ever did see

Now the wing on the bird,

And the bird in...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Introduction
• Artist’s Statement
• “Hemlocks and Primroses”
• “The Animal Song”
• “Light Green Leaves”
• “Home by the Sea”
• “Winter’s Come and Gone”
• “The Water is Wide”
• “The Blackbird and the Crow”
• “I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground”
• “And The Green Grass Grows All Around”
• “Home on the Range”
• “Cave”
• “Froggie Went a Courtin’”
• “The Littlest Birds”
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Copyright