Joshua Giraffe

What's with some children's songs and animal cruelty? She’ll be Coming ‘Round the Mountain quips "we’ll kill the old red rooster when she comes (chop,chop)". And those poor Three Blind Mice. The farmer's wife "cut off their tails with a carving knife". I usually skip these songs on children's cds we listen to.

My favorite children’s song is Joshua Giraffe by Raffi. It is delightful, and teaches such a loving, animal friendly message. Joshua, born in a zoo, is sad. A few of the lyrics are:

My mommy doesn't lick me, even when I'm sticky from candy floss, candy apples, popcorn, soft drinks, jelly beans and gumdrops

There must be something better than living in this cage

How little of life he had, wasting away with no room to play

But Joshua's fate improves!:

Joshua was lucky, he had some special friends... they chopped his cage in two, he discovered he could fly and he soared into the sky

...they haven't come back yet. But when they do, they say they are going to free all the animals from their cages

Our daughter loves this song, jumping and singing with glee. She also has a sincere understanding of why animals shouldn't be in a zoo (or in a circus). For those parents interested, Raffi has other great songs like Baby Beluga and Oats and Beans and Barley on his Baby Beluga CD.