Great Granddad | Kids Song Lyrics

from the MMF Songbook


About 'Great Granddad'

“Great Grand-Dad” is a lighthearted American folksong from the 1920s, based on a poem by Lowell Otus Reese and set to music by John Irwin White. Popular at community sing-alongs and radio shows, the song gives kids a fun glimpse into early American life and old-fashioned family traditions.

The verses are collected from various sources and presented in no particular order. The chorus should be performed after each verse.

Lyrics for 'Great Granddad'

Great Granddad was a merry old lad,
When Great Granddad was young;
He used to go courting the dear little maids,
And sweetly to them he sung.

Chorus:
Then hip-hurrah for the good old days,
When life was a joy and song;
Tho' times have changed and ways seem strange,
We’ll honor the old days long.

Great Granddad wore a high stock tie,
And a coat of swallow tail;
He drove his gig with a prancing nag,
And never rode the rail.

He was a citizen tough and grim
Danger was duck soup to him;
He ate corn pone and bacon fat,
Great grandson would starve on that.

Great Granddad, when the land was young,
Barred the door with a wagon tongue,
For the times was rough and the redskins mocked,
And he said his prayers with his shotgun cocked.

Great Granddad drank his cider sweet,
And danced at the county fair;
He fiddled a tune by the light of the moon,
With never a thought or care.

Great Granddad worked with willing hands,
And whistled a cheery lay;
He lived and laughed and loved and sang,
In the good old-fashioned way.

Twenty-one boys came to bless,
The old man's home in the wilderness;
They slept on the floor with the dogs and the cats,
And they hunted in the woods in their coonskin caps.

Twenty-one boys and not one bad,
They never got fresh with their great granddad;
For if they had, he'd have been right glad,
To tan their hides with a hickory gad.

They grew strong in heart and hand,
Firm foundation of our land;
Twenty-one boys and a great grandson,
But he has a tough time with that one.

Great Granddad was a busy man,
Cooked his grub in a frying pan,
He picked his teeth with his hunting knife,
And he wore the same suit all his life.


Browse Related Resources for 'Great Granddad'


Piano Sheet Music

Great Granddad for Easy/Level 4 Piano Solo
Old American Songs | Lesson and Recital Piano Book (Digital Print)



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