The Other Day I Met A Bear Sheet Music, Videos, And More

the other day i met a bear

One of my favorite resources to use as songs for my classroom is camp songs, and when a camp song and an echo song come together, I’m all for it! 

The Other Day I Met A Bear is one of my all-time faves from even before going to camp. I first heard it from my grandma!

In this article, we’ll look at the sheet music, chords, lyrics, videos, and books available to you. 

I Met A Bear Sheet Music And Chords

The song is actually pretty complex if you look at the musical concepts only. 

Most people firmly place this in Kindergarten and First grade as a fun, echo song (and I do too!), but the concepts are much more advanced than you’d expect. 

Does this mean we can’t do it? Of course not. 

It just means the purpose of this song isn’t to teach musical concepts but to provide a positive musical experience. 

i met a bear sheet music
Feel free to share with link back to Dynamic Music Room.

Where I First Heard It: My grandma, a retired Kindergarten and First-grade teacher

Grade Level: Kindergarten and First Grades

Type: Echo song

Tonal Center: Do

Range: Octave

Tone Set: Drmf*fi*std’

Rhythm Set: whole note, half note, quarter rest, paired eighth notes, quarter notes

Form: ||:ab:||

Suggested Key: C Major 

Pitch Focus: Fi

Rhythm Focus: Whole note

Chords: C Major, G7, F Major

I Met A Bear Lyrics

The format for this song is to start with an echo section. Each phrase is echoed (this is where the ellipses or “dot dot dot” comes in ). 

Then, it’s put together in a B section with the same lyrics but a different melody. 

  1. The other day… I met a bear… A great big bear… A way out there…
  2. I looked at him… He looked at me… I sized up him… He sized up me…
  3. He said to me… Why don’t you run?… I see you ain’t… Got any gun…
  4. I said to him… That’s a good idea… So come on feet… Let’s up and flee…
  5. And so I ran… Away from there… But right behind… Me was that bear… 
  6. Ahead of me… I saw a tree… A great big tree… Oh, glory be!…
  7. The lowest branch… Was ten feet up… I’d have to jump… And trust my luck…
  8. And so I jumped… Into the air… But I missed that branch… On the way up there…
  9. Now, don’t you fret… And don’t you frown… ‘Cause I caught that branch… On the way back down…
  10. That’s all there is… There ain’t no more… Unless I meet… That bear once more…

Pro-tip: Add some moves to the lyrics of this song, matching what’s going on for an active and engaging time. 

I Met A Bear Videos

I love to use videos to present different variations to the song after we play it in class. 

It provides a great launching point for a discussion on similarities and differences and how songs change over time. 

Here are a few of my favorites: 

The Other Day I Met A Bear Books

Books are another great way to extend this activity and discuss the differences in the versions. 

I have these, and they work nicely. 

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The Other Day I Met A Bear: First Steps In Music – This one is a classic with beautiful illustrations. 

The Other Day I Met A Bear: Russel Ayto – This one is cute and nice as a contrast, but I like the other one better overall. 

You may also want to check out the Green Grass Grew All Around. Click the link for our sheet music and lesson guide.

Zach VanderGraaff

Zach VanderGraaff is a K-5 music teacher in Michigan with 12 years of experience. He's the President of the Michigan Kodaly Educators and founder of the Dynamic Music Room.

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