Old Brass Wagon
USA
HISTORY AND SONG NOTES
Old Brass Wagon is an American folksong, believed to have originated in the mid-western United States in the mid-19th century. Old Brass Wagon is often used as a circle game, where the children and teachers stand and hold hands together, moving and changing direction as the song indicates - to the left, to the right, etc. For younger children, you can simplify the game by changing the lyrics to “circle all around," and only move in one direction.
AUDIO RECORDING FOR LISTENING, SINGING ALONG, AND LEARNING:
You’ll notice that in the recording below Old Brass Wagon is paired with another American favorite Skip to My Lou. These songs share the same harmonic structure, and can be sung together. Young children will not be able to sing two overlapping songs independently as you hear in this recording without considerable practice and teacher help; however, listening to overlapping songs or songs with different vocal parts is one way that we first introduce children to the concept of harmony.