Musician Sarah Morgan visited Willowcroft Community School, one of our OneOak partner schools, earlier this week to practice and record two tree planting songs.  The songs will be performed by 250 children from all our five partners schools when every child returns to the OneOak woodland to plant an oak seedling in early February.

The first song is performed rythmically as a call and response:

Tree planting song (Words © Sarah Morgan 2007 / Tune trad.)

Going to take my spade, dig a hole in the ground  (x3)
Going to plant a tree before the spring comes round

That tree will grow so tall and high (x3)
Roots in the earth, leaves in the sky.

And the birds will fly from the East and the West (x3)
Going to choose my tree to build their nest.

From the acorn to the oak, from the seed to the tree (x3)
We’re planting a forest for you and me.

Going to take my spade, dig a hole in the ground  (x3)
Going to plant a tree before the spring comes round

The second is adapted from a Kipling verse to suit the timing of our activities:

Oak and Ash and Thorn (adapted from Kipling/Bellamy)

Oak and Ash and Thorn good sirs
All on a January morn
Surely we sing of no little thing
In Oak and Ash and Thorn

You can listen to both songs in the music box on our OneOak homepage