It's Easy Bein' Green

In every revue we publish, we include at least one song that is easy enough for your very youngest students to sing by themselves, or with older students. For My Planet, Your Planet, that song is "It's Easy Bein' Green." (With apologies and respect to a certain little green guy...)

The song is written with an optional call and response that recurs throughout. Divide your class into two sections putting your strongest singers in the "call" part. That way, singers who are less sure of themselves only have to imitate what they hear. If this seems too complicated for your situation, just let them sing part 1 (the call) by itself. Both parts are covered in the winds on the recording for reinforcement of the vocals and so that there aren't any "holes" if you don't do both parts.

There are three verses at measure 13 that define a few ways kids can do green things easily. Even though this is a very short section, you may find it too challenging for some youngsters to remember. It's perfectly fine to let them repeat whichever verse you prefer instead of doing all three.

It's worth mentioning that this tune swings. Even though you see straight eighth notes on the music, they are interpreted with a triplet feel, not a duple feel. This is indicated at the top of the music by the figure in parentheses after the tempo marking. Our session players definitely know how to swing, so if you just let your kids listen to them, they will pick it up in no time. Besides, the great big band arrangement is just fun to listen to, thanks to our phenomenal arranger, Paul Jennings.

As an extension of this song, consider letting your students draw and/or color "green things" as they listen or sing. Be sure you have plenty of green crayons or markers on hand!