As the leaves change and cooler winds blow in, it’s time to start singing some fall songs.
I’m not someone who always changes every song I teach for the season, but there are some I use to get connected with the seasonal goings-on.
Here is the list of my favorite 15 Autumn songs for school:
- I Love Apples!
- Autumn Leaves
- Hintery Mintery
- Which Witch?
- 5 Little Pumpkins
- Apple Tree, Apple Tree
- Have You Ever Seen An Apple?
- Autumn Leaves Are Falling Down
- Great Big House In New Orleans
- Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater
- North Wind Doth Blow
- Hail To Thee Old Apple Tree
- It’s Fall Again
- Leaves On The Tree
- There Was An Old Woman All Skin and Bones
Table of Contents
I Love Apples!
This one is inspired from Teaching Mama.
It’s a simple variation of You Are My Sunshine with the words replaced to reflect the awesome fall apples.
Being a Michigander, apples are a huge part of our Autumn season, so my kids always loved this one.
Lyrics:
I love red apples. I love red apples.
And I could eat them just every day.
I love the red ones; I love the green ones.
Please don’t take my apples away!
Autumn Leaves
This classic jazz tune is perfect for the season. It’s also a great way to introduce some basic jazz to your kids.
Consider using boomwhackers or ukuleles to play along with the chords of this song.
Further Reading: Best boomwhacker songs for the music room
Hintery Mintery
There are many variations of this chant or nursery rhyme.
Almost every one captures the childrens’ imaginations and engages them.
The one in the video above features a cup game.
I first learned this from Doug Goodkin, an Orff presenter with a stellar reputation for engaging lessons.
Check out the book this chant is featured in here:
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Which Witch?
This song features some great call and response opportunities, along with a circle game.
See the video for how to play.
Lyrics:
Which witch fell in a ditch?
Picked up a penny and thought she was rich!
(Repeat)
Leader: Are you my children?
Group: Yes, we’re your children.
(Repeat 3x but on the third time)
Group: No, we’re not!
The person whom the witch is standing in front of on the word “not” becomes the next witch.
5 Little Pumpkins
I love this chant, and it’s fun to dramatize with your voice and hand motions.
Just make some up!
There are many little books out there with this chant, so ask around! I bet you won’t even have to buy one!
Lyrics:
5 little pumpkins sitting on a gate.
The first one said, “Oh my, it’s getting late!”
The second one said, “There are witches in the air!”
The third one said, “But we don’t care.”
The fourth one said, “Let’s run and run.”
The fifth one said, “Let’s have some fun!”
Woooh! went the wind, and OUT went the light.
And 5 little pumpkins rolled out of sight.
Apple Tree, Apple Tree
Here’s a great folk song and another circle game to use with your kids.
I’ve played this one many times, and it’s always a blast.
This song is also perfect for teaching and reinforcing DO.
Lyrics:
Apple tree, apple tree
Will the apple fall on me?
I won’t cry, and I won’t shout
If your apple knocks me out.
Have You Ever Seen An Apple?
This one is a variation song that also comes from Teaching Mama.
It’s to the tune of Did you ever see a lassie?
Lyrics:
Have you ever seen an apple
An apple, an apple
Have you ever seen an apple
That grows on a tree?
A red one, a yellow one, a pink one, a green one?
Have you ever seen an apple
That grows on a tree?
Autumn Leaves Are Falling Down
Here is a variation song using fall leaves and how they change colors.
It’s to the tune of London Bridge is Falling Down.
Lyrics:
Autumn leaves are falling down
Falling down, falling down
Autumn leaves are falling down
Soon it is winter!
Great Big House In New Orleans
This song is always a good one to play with a little bit older students.
While not strictly a fall song, it does mention “pumpkin pie,” so I stretched it out a bit.
Lyrics:
Great big house in New Orleans 40 stories high.
Every room that I’ve been in is filled with pumpkin pie.
Went down to the old mill stream to fetch a pail of water
With one arm around my wife, the other ’round my daughter.
Fare thee well, my darling girl. Fare thee well, my daughter.
Fare thee well, my darling girl with the golden slippers on her.
Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater
This one is a simple but classic nursery rhyme.
I love to let the students make up their motions and actions for the chant.
Lyrics:
Peter, Peter pumpkin eater,
Had a wife but couldn’t keep her;
He put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her very well.
Peter, Peter pumpkin eater,
Had another and didn’t love her;
Peter learned to read and spell,
And then he loved her very well.
North Wind Doth Blow
Check out the notation at Beth’s Notes.
This is a great song for the changing weather, and it’s also in pentatonic.
This means it’s perfect for practicing pitches often used in Orff and Kodaly music learning.
Hail To Thee Old Apple Tree
Here’s another one from Beth’s Notes.
The extended major scale in this one is great for older students to sing or play on an instrument.
Lyrics:
Sing hail to thee, old apple tree.
Long may you live and bud and blow,
Through sun and shower may you grow
All your boughs with apples bending low.
Chorus:
Hats full and caps full, baskets and bags full.
See our apples round and red.
Hats full and caps full, baskets, bags full
Of apples round and ripe and red.
It’s Fall Again
I’ll admit that sometimes I think the Learning Station is a bit overproduced in their songs.
But when looking for a season-specific or themed song, that’s an OK problem to have.
If you want, learn it yourself and then teach it through singing only or learn to play it yourself.
Leaves On The Tree
The Kiboomers do a good job of making fun songs for young kids.
This one is no expectation, and it’s great for the season.
There Was An Old Woman All Skin and Bones
Yeah, I snuck a Halloween one in here, but since Halloween is in Autumn, you’ll have to forgive me!
I love this song ever since my grandma taught it to me as a young lad.
It’s an awesome way to have fun with the kids while sneakily teaching them to access their head voice.
