Kids
always ask me what the title to this song means. When writing
it, I kept looking for a word with the sounds of many different
languages. Spanish sounds of Latin America. Sounds of Jamaica
and South Africa. Sounds of Asian languages. Even some “American
English” sounds. Zeno-ba-ba-da-zeno-ba-way is what I
finally came up with.
Once people get the hang of it, this lively
song works great for making up new verses. See notes about
zipper songs for “If
I Had Wings.” If anyone comes up with a way to rhyme
“Boston Red Sox” with “across the sea”
for a new baseball verse, please let me know!
I
know a man across the sea
Zeno-ba-ba-da-zeno-ba-way
Catching the fish for his family
Zeno-ba-ba-da-zeno-ba-way
With a face like you (clap, clap) and a
dream like me (clap, clap)
Zeno-ba-ba-da-zeno-ba-way
Around the world we all can be
Zeno-ba-ba-da-zeno-ba-way
I know a woman across the sea
Zeno-ba-ba-da-zeno-ba-way
Planting her beans and zucchinis
Zeno-ba-ba-da-zeno-ba-way
With a face like you (clap, clap) and a
dream like me (clap, clap)
Zeno-ba-ba-da-zeno-ba-way
Around the world we all can be
Zeno-ba-ba-da-zeno-ba-way
I know a boy across the sea
Zeno-ba-ba-da-zeno-ba-way
He plays the drums and the ukulele
Zeno-ba-ba-da-zeno-ba-way
With a face like you (clap, clap) and a
dream like me (clap, clap)
Zeno-ba-ba-da-zeno-ba-way
Around the world we all can be
Zeno-ba-ba-da-zeno-ba-way
I know a girl across the sea
Zeno-ba-ba-da-zeno-ba-way
She likes baseball and the Yankees [Alt. verse: She likes dancing and spelling
bees]
Zeno-ba-ba-da-zeno-ba-way
With a face like you (clap, clap) and a
dream like me (clap, clap)
Zeno-ba-ba-da-zeno-ba-way
Around the world we all can be
Zeno-ba-ba-da-zeno-ba-way
[repeat first verse a capella, with
hand claps on back beats]
Pen Pals What
are some places around the world you’d like to visit?
How do people there live? Suppose you had a pen pal in some
other country and you were going to visit them. What things
would you like to do together? What do you think they’d
enjoy doing if they visited you?
Class Activities
Artes
Do map-making projects or class murals of scenes from other
lands.
Food Fiesta
Where do some of our favorite foods originally come? Potatoes
don’t come from Ireland. Tomato sauce didn’t start
out in Italy, and “Swiss” chocolate really isn’t!
Students can give a short class presentation on one of their
favorite foods, including where it comes from, how it is grown
or produced, and how it is pronounced in its country of origin.
Pass out samples for everyone to try, and enjoy an international
Food Fiesta!
Ropa
Have a dress up (or dress down) day based on wearing at least
one item of clothing in the style of a Latin American country,
or some other country of choice.
Mercado
Have a Market Day, where students bring items to sell and
barter, placed on blankets at their feet. Students receive
a starting allowance in pesos. All negocios are conducted
in Spanish (or body language) with as much discussion, haggling,
etc. as possible. Mucho gusto.
Musica Listen
to a variety of current pop songs and older traditional music
from different countries. Try adding some hand percussion
instruments to some of the songs, perhaps performing one for
other foreign language classes (or for Steve when he visits).
I
know a man across the sea
Listen
to the sound file
Listen
to a variety of current pop songs and older traditional music
from different countries. Try adding some hand percussion
instruments to some of the songs, perhaps performing one for
other foreign language classes (or for Steve when he visits).
