Getting a little time off work–and the commute–thanks to the arrival of Little Miss C on Sunday, I had the express pleasure of accompanying new big brother Little G to his Music Together class today up 117 a bit in Hillaryville.

As any veteran of a Music Together class or CD knows, the session kicks off with a little “Hello, everybody” song, in which the mothers are covered with a “Hello, to all the mommies,” while the lone dad and lone nanny each get their own shout-out.

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The class ambled on through a little “Jumpin’ Josie,” then “I’m a Bell,” and later, the little egg-shaped shakers came out for “Train to the City.”

As the leader started the song–adults and kids alike, on their feet, shuffling in a circle as if to mimic a train–the tune reminded me of some old Peter, Paul and Mary hippie nonsense I’d heard as a kid; something about a train that didn’t allow gamblers, womanizers, cigar smokers and other profligates.

The lyrics have been cleaned up for the thigh-high set–This train is going to the city, this train, and This train is going to Grandma’s, this train…

At one point the leader, an aging hippie with straight iron-gray hair, started to improvise. This train, she sang through cartoonish teeth, is going to the station, this train…

Mid-verse, she said she couldn’t come up with a rhyme for station. Uh, I thought, An on-time train ain’t but an abberation, for starters, or Metro-North’s drinks got hit by inflation, or Not commuting for a week fills me with elation, but I bit my tongue.

The leader redeemed herself on the next verse by coughing up this clever bit of poesy:

This train is going to Yonkers, This train
This train, is going to Yonkers, This train

This train is going to Yonkers/

The engineer has gone bonkers, this train

The mommies, the nanny and I laughed when we heard that one.

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[images: eplkids.blogspot.com, haverstrawlife.com]