SSAB Chorus, Rap Solo and Piano (also available for SSA chorus)

Recommended for: Middle School and Older

Optional Instrumentation: Piano, bass guitar, percussion

Many years ago, conductor and professor, Doreen Rao asked me to write a piece that incorporated playground songs. I finally got around to it over 20 years later when Elizabeth, my wife, asked me to create the same idea for YPC. I started to find old jump rope songs and hand clapping games that I learned during my study of the Kodály method and remembered many folk songs from my childhood in New York City, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

I always loved the song "Pizza, Pizza Daddy-O" which has the feeling of 5, even though it is written in 4! Along with this song, you will hear “Red Light, Green Light 1-2-3,” “Down, Down Baby,” “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary” and “Miss Mary Mack.”

Set to original music based on my heritage (Latin pop and Latin jazz), the rest of this work is new lyrics about young people finding themselves in a world that allows you to be energized and filled with ideas; a place that is accepting of who you want to be.

I am very grateful to YPC chorister Alyssa Blake (age 15 at the time) for her help in the rap section.

Sweet, sweet baby, shimmy shimmy pow

Rhythm in my head, red turns green

Green turns red, miss Mary Mack said

Rhythm of the hands, rhythm of the feet

Red light, green light, shimmy shimmy free

Dance with me, roll with me

Let me grow up to be

In my dreams I am free

Red light, green light, 1, 2, 3

I got dreams, I’m a time machine

Free to be all of me

Red light, green light, 1, 2, 3

Red light, green light, wait and see

La la la la la la la la

Mary, quite contrary

How does your garden grow with many shells

And silver bells, pretty flowers in a row, hey!

Rhythms of the hands, rhythms of the feet

Red light, green light, shimmy shimmy free

Mary has a boyfriend

Billy has a pizza pizza daddy-o!

Pedro has a friend

How’d you know it

Cause she told me

Pizza pizza daddy-o!

Let’s sing it free!

Lie lie eh low lay low lay low lay lay low lie

Low eh lie lie eh low lay low lay low lay lay low lie

Heyza!

Hey, I got dreams, dreams, dreams for miles in the atmosphere

They keep on going and I keep know, knowing they never stop

It seems to me like I’m a crazy first time machine going, going, going,

Never stopping, red light, green light, 1, 2, 3

Dance with me, roll with me,

Let me grow up to be,

Green light, red light, ‘cause that’s all I really want to be

In a dream I am free all the time,

I am free to be, free to be, free to be, free to be

Rock with me, roll with me, grow with me,

Because I will be strong and free

Red light, green light, just wait and see

I am free to be all of me!

Let’s put the rhythm in our heads Pizza pizza daddy-o!

Let’s put the rhythm in our feet Pizza pizza daddy-o!

Put the rhythm in our song! Pizza pizza daddy-o!

Let’s dance it free!