Songs I sing to my boy

For a long time now, DS has had 'Oh my baby', and 'You are my Sunshine', sung to him. These are 2 staples in our house, and they're 'mummy songs'. Something I have been singing for a few years now is 'the Crocodile. This is a song I learnt whilst I was in my local high school choir, and we sung it in St David's Hall. I had mistakenly thought our conductor had written words and tune, but have recently found I was wrong (and also 2 verses I had forgotten).

So, here, for my DS (and my memory), are the words and author:


The Crocodile

If you were to stand on the banks of the Nile
In the sweltering sun and with sand in the air
You'd have to beware of the bold crocodile
For he and his friends would surely be there.
With a lashing and thrashing of terrible tail
And a snapping and clapping of horrible jaws
He searches for food and should he find your trail
He wouldn't say no to a body like yours.
They say he can live for a great many years
With his crocodile skin like an armoured car
Because of his teeth there is nothing he fears
When he's seen in a zoo, you are safer by far.
And now that my story is nearly complete
Of the crocodile's habits I'm sure you might dream
But remember, the only one you'll chance to meet
Is the lizard who lives on the banks of a stream.

Peter Jenkyns (1921-96)