Nellie Bly lyrics and brief notes

One by one we'll be adding the lyrics to songs from our upcoming album, Freeedom in a Box, to this blog. Gradually, we'll add entries including lesson plans, activity sheets, and more. Here's the album's opening track:

Nellie Bly
words & music by Lloyd Miller;
arrangement by Chris Johnson, Ely Levin, Anand Mukherjee, and Lloyd Miller

Booker Dee - piano, vocals
Innocent Dee - acoustic guitar, vocals
Otto von Dee - drums, vocals
Ulysses S. Dee - upright bass, vocals
Brooklyn kids - vocals

As a publicity stunt for the New York World newspaper, fearless reporter Nellie Bly set off around the world with the goal of beating the ficitional record set in the book Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Vernes. She made the trip in 72 days and became the most famous woman in the world.

This is the latest of many songs about her. By the way, the original song "Nellie Bly," written by Stephen Foster, isn't about her, but it's where she got her pen name (her real name was Elizabeth Jane Cochran).

The drawing up and to the right features the Deedle Deedle Dees serenading Nellie Bly while she rides in a rickshaw. Nellie's look is based on a series of beautiful trading cards that were among the many Nellie Bly-themed products that were sold to capitalize on her fame.

LYRICS:
Nellie Bly... ...Nellie Bly!
Eighteen eighty-nine... ...eighteen eighty-nine!
Around the world... ...around the world!
Seventy-two days, girl

Ho-ho-hoboken... ...Ho-ho-boken
Ho-hong Kong... ...Ho-ho Kong
Egypt, London... ... Egypt, London
And back home to New York

She didn't fly an airplane... ...No airplane!
She didn't ride a bus... ...No bus!
She didn't drive a mini-van... ...No mini-van!
How'd she go? I don't know

S-A-M-P-A-N Sampan Is that a boat?
It's a Chinese boat!
Nellie Bly rode lots of boats and the sampan is my favorite, yo yo yo yo...

Nellie Bly... ...Nellie Bly!
Eighteen eighty-nine... ...eighteen eighty-nine!
Around the world... ...around the world!
Seventy-two days, girl

Ho-ho-hoboken... ...Ho-ho-boken
Ho-hong Kong... ...Ho-ho Kong
Egypt, London... ... Egypt, London
And back home to New York

She didn't fly an airplane... ...No airplane!
She didn't ride a bus... ...No bus!
She didn't drive a mini-van... ...No mini-van!
How'd she go? I don't know

R-I-C-K-S-H-A-W... Is that a chair?
It's a chair with wheels!
But Nellie Bly didn't sit in a rickshaw too long
She used horses and her own feet to get along long long long...

Nellie Bly... ...Nellie Bly!
Eighteen eighty-nine... ...eighteen eighty-nine!
Around the world... ...around the world!
Seventy-two days, girl

Ho-ho-hoboken... ...Ho-ho-boken
Ho-hong Kong... ...Ho-ho Kong
Egypt, London... ... Egypt, London
And back home to good old New York

Welcome to Teach DDD!

Hello--

Starting in March 2007, this blog will be a resource for teachers who would like to use the music of the Deedle Deedle Dees in their classrooms. Lesson plans, background notes, activity and coloring sheets, and reading lists will all be here for you to use.

The Deedle Deedle Dees are going to release our album, Freedom in a Box, on March 3rd. The album features a number of songs about our favorite obsession, American history, as well as movement-based songs developed in our toddler classes. You can hear some of these tunes now at www.myspace.com/thedeedledeedledees.

By the way, if there's something specific you'd like to know about one of our songs, please e-mail me at thedeedledeedledees@yahoo.com. Or, if you have a suggestion for a song you'd like us to write, let us know right away. We work fast and we'd be happy to help you with your current curriculum!

sincerely yours,
Ulysses S. Dee