Dinosaur Songs, Part III

[Amado Narvaez <anarvaez@umd5.umd.edu>]

In this posting I'll continue the songs devoted to dinosaurs of the 
Jurassic. First, though, I think I should point out that you may want to 
revise the last verse of the "Plateosaurus" song posted earlier depending 
on how you feel about the likelihood that the prosauropods in general 
were ancestors of the sauropods. Some of the texts in my library suggest 
that the prosauropods _are_ ancestors of the sauropods (cf. Czerkas, 
_Dinosaurs: The Global View_, p. 122; Norman, _The Illustrated 
Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs, p. 80), but others suggest that prosauropods 
are related to sauropods only by virtue of a common ancestor (cf. _The 
Dino Times_, Vol. 4, No. 11, p. 4; Sattler, _The New Illustrated Dinosaur 
Dictionary_, p. 250). I posed the question to this listserv and you may 
want to watch for more responses. The two responses I have seen so far 
are divided.

In any case, I have written another verse for Plateosaurus which you can 
replace for the questionable one. In some ways, I like this new verse 
better anyway. This goes to the "Yankee Doodle" stanza "Yankee Doodle, 
keep it up!"

        Maybe you're familiar with
        Many of my cousins--
        Late Jurassic sauropods
        Who numbered in the dozens!

This verse suggests a less direct relationship between the two groups.

I've devoted more space to this explanation than I expected to, but since 
the whole point of these songs was to provide substantive and ACCURATE 
information about dinosaurs, I felt a professional obligation to at 
least make you aware of the two views.

Now to "Diplodocus," "Allosaurus," "Brachiosaurus" and "Stegosaurus".

(Note: For those who came in late... commercial publication and recording 
rights are reserved by yours truly, Amado Narvaez. Feel free to sing them in
non-profit venues --school or community productions, or around the campfire.)
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        Diplodocus
(to the tune of "Over the River and Through the Wood")
(Note: Clues to match the dino song to the Thanksgiving song are
given in parentheses.)

Picture the mighty Diplodocus--
A peaceful dinosaur!                            (Trot fast my dapple grey!)
A giant beast, 12 tons at least,                (It stings the toes...)
And maybe a little more!
 
Once in a while a Diplodocus
Was Allosaurus prey!
But his stinging tail would never fail
To keep allosaurs away!
 
Picture the mighty Diplodocus
Along the Jurassic trail!                       (To grandmother's house...) 
He measured complete nearly 90 feet
>From head to his whip-like tail!

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        Brachiosaurus
(to the tune of "Oh, Where, oh, Where Has My Little Dog Gone?")
 
Oh, where--oh, where is my Brachiosaur?
Oh, where, oh where can he be?
With his back legs short and his front legs long--
Oh, where, oh, where can he be?
 
Oh, where--oh, where is my Brachiosaur?
I can't believe that he's lost!
'Cause he's 80 feet long and he's 40 feet high!
I can't believe that he's lost!
 
Oh, where--oh, where is my Brachiosaur?
Just look for trees without leaves!
'Cause his hunger is great and he constantly eats!
Just look for trees without leaves!

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Next installment: Stegosaurus and the kids' favorite: Allosaurus

----- Amado Narvaez
      anarvaez@umd5.umd.edu