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OLEANNA

New words copyright 1999, Music Legacy

Click the banjo button to hear the music as you sing  

        (Chorus):

        Ole, Oleanna, ole, Oleanna

        Ole, ole, ole, ole, ole, Oleanna 

        To be in Oleanna,

        That’s where I want to be,

        Far away from Norway,

        across the deep blue sea.

    (Chorus)

        When I get to Oleanna,

        that’s where I’ll settle down.

        In Oleanna the land is free

        and money trees grow all around.

    (Chorus)

        Corn and wheat grow to the sky,

        all according to the plan.

        Sheep and cows do all the work

        and fish jump into the frying pan.

    (Chorus)

        Water tastes like soda pop,

        springs from the ground and flows away.

        All the cows give chocolate milk

        and hens lay candy eggs each day.

    (Chorus)

        Bushes grow like lollipops.

        Popcorn falls down from the sky.

        Dogs and cats don’t bite or scratch

        and little babies never cry.

    (Chorus)

        Raspberries and strawberries

        bouncing up and down the street

        Ask you so politely if a

        taste of jam you’d like to eat.

    (Chorus)

        To be in Oleanna,

        that’s where I want to be,

        Far away from Norway

        in the Land of Liberty.

GUITAR:  C  C  F  C   F  C  G7  C   Chorus: repeat

    Patrick Thomas made up these words:

    Tree  leaves  are  made  of   bacon   strips 

    that  you  can  just  eat

    right  out  of  in  Oleanna!

 BRIGHT     IDEA:

    Have a group of kids imagine fabulous things in Oleanna:

    Ocean waves are jello.

    All the mud is chocolate pie.

    Trees bloom with jelly beans.

    Clouds are made of marshmallow.

    The sun is fruit.

    Collect all of the ideas and find ones that rhyme at the end.

    Organize them into a rhyme pattern like: A   B  C  B .

    The beach is made of sugar.      A

    Ocean waves are jello.              B

    The sun is pizza, the sky is juice,     C

    And the clouds are of marshmallow.     B   

    Now we have added our contribution to the legend. 

Send your creations here:

Click     it.

The original song is believed to be an old kind of advertising jingle promoting real estate in America.  Why would parts of this song seem inappropriate today?

(Translation from the Norwegian by Pete Seeger)

Ole, oleanna, ole, oleanna
ole, ole, ole, ole, ole, oleanna

Oh to be in Oleanna,
that's where I'd like to be
Than to be in Norway
and bear the chains of slavery

Little roasted piggies
rush around the city streets
Inquiring so politely
if a slice of ham you'd like to eat

Beer as sweet as Muncheners
springs from the ground and flows away
The cows all like to milk themselves
And the hens lay eggs ten times a day

The women there do all the work
As round the fields they quickly go
Each one has a hickory stick
And beats herself if she works too slow

In Oleanna land is free
The wheat and corn just plant themselves
Then grow a good four feet a day
While on your bed you rest yourself

Ole Bull (1810-1880), a famous violinist and wealthy
adventurer, decided to establish a colony in
Pennsylvania where land starved Norwegians could live
until they set up their homesteads.  The colony centered
around a town that was called Oleana, named after Ole
Bull himself. In 1853 after the first settlers arrived 
it became evident that the land was not suited to
farming and Bull's scheme collapsed. A Norwegian
newspaperman wrote the  ballad poking fun at those who
had dreamed of an easy life in America.
From Silver Burdett MUSIC Teacher's Edition 3

Here is a verse about Ole Bull:

Ole Bull will play for us
Play upon his violin
And we'll sing and dance together
Happier than we've ever been