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Ants on Parade
copyright 2001 by Tim Griffin

Oh the ants are the march, my lad, we’re marching on parade
We are marching through the meadow where your picnic lunch is laid
We are marching to the rhythm of a hundred thousand feet
So you’d better step aside, my lad, the ants are out to eat

Oh the ants (Hurrah! Hurrah!) are on parade (Hurrah! Hurrah!)
I know we might be small but when we march as one (Two! Three!)
While you’re laying out your lunch we’re getting ready to invade
So you’d better step aside, my lad, the ants are on parade!

Oh the ants are on parade, my lad, we’re marching night and day
We’ve a sense of smell that works so well we seldom lose our way
Every ant can leave a trail for all the other ants to find
If you just see one beware, my son, the rest are close behind

Oh the ants (Hurrah! Hurrah!) are on parade (Hurrah! Hurrah!)
I know we might be small but when we march as one (Two! Three!)
We shall overrun your picnic with a chitin cavalcade
So you’d better step aside, my lad, the ants are on parade!

Oh the ants are on parade, my lad, wherever food is found
When we find some food we’ll take it to our home beneath the ground
Our most important duty’s to protect and feed the queen
You know she likes it best inside the nest, that’s why she’s seldom seen

Oh the ants (Hurrah! Hurrah!) are on parade (Hurrah! Hurrah!)
I know we might be small but when we march as one (Two! Three!)
We shall carry out our orders for the queen must be obeyed
So you’d better step aside, my lad, the ants are on parade!

Oh the ants are on parade, my lad, you’d better not be slow
Or we’ll grab you with our mandibles and haul you down below
Where we’ll tear you into pieces and we’ll feed you to the queen
And we have no ears so we won’t even hear you when you scream

Oh the ants (Hurrah! Hurrah!) are on parade (Hurrah! Hurrah!)
I know we might be small but when we march as one (Two! Three!)
We shall swarm across the meadow and we’ll carve it like a blade
So you’d better step aside, my lad, the ants are on parade!
Oh you’d best beware, my lad, take care! The ants are on parade!

Print Notes

Notes

Here’s another one that sometimes (rarely) makes small children cry. So why do they keep demanding that I play it? I suppose it’s because the last verse is scary, but in a sufficiently implausible way that it won’t cause “real” anxiety. As with the old fairy tales, it turns out that kids still enjoy being just a little bit scared. Grownups, use your judgment; if you don’t want to use this one I have another good song about insects, though this one goes a little deeper into the ants and the whole concept of a super-organism.

Here are some standards from the NGSS, the NRC’s Framework for K-12 Science Education, and the state of California addressed by this song:

Kindergarten:

  • K-LS1-1. Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.
  • K-LS1.A. All organisms have external parts. Different animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, and seek, find, and take in food, water and air.
  • K-LS1.C. All animals need food in order to live and grow. They obtain their food from plants or from other animals.
  • K-LS1.D. Animals have body parts that capture and convey different kinds of information needed for growth and survival. Animals respond to these inputs with behaviors that help them survive.

First Grade:

  • LS1.A: All organisms have external parts. Different animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, and seek, find, and take in food, water and air.
  • LS1.B: Adult plants and animals can have young. In many kinds of animals, parents and the offspring themselves engage in behaviors that help the offspring to survive.
  • CA LS.1.2.a. Students know different plants and animals inhabit different kinds of environ­ ments and have external features that help them thrive in different kinds of places.

Second Grade:

  • 2-LS4-1. Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.

Third Grade:

  • LS2.D: Being part of a group helps animals obtain food, defend themselves, and cope with changes. Groups may serve different functions and vary dramatically in size.
  • CA LS.1.3.a. Students know plants and animals have structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction.

Chords:
This is a very rudimentary 3-chord progression. I played it with E, A, B and a capo for an extra half-step (thus F, A#, B#) on the album Insult To Injury, but my voice has changed some since then so I usually play it lower nowadays.