I love hearing from my readers, especially when they have a success story to share involving a song I’ve shared on the blog. A close second to that is readers who give me ideas for new songs and activities, because sometimes I need a little grease to get the wheels turning!
Well as I mentioned yesterday, music therapist Amy from L.A. did just that earlier in the week. She asked if I knew of any good street and traffic safety songs, as she was addressing this topic with one of her students diagnosed with autism. I told her I didn’t, but that I would love to try my hand at writing one. She specified that the language should be pretty basic, and then gave me a few key elements to include. Here is what resulted:
Left, right, left.
Left, right left.
Look both ways before you cross the street!
Left, right, left.
Left, right, left.
Use your eyes before you use your feet.
You gotta be safe,
And you gotta be smart,
When there are cars around,
So do your part.
Always think
Before you act,
Because safety comes first,
And that’s a fact.
Do not run.
Do not run.
Walk very slowly in the parking lot!
Do not run.
Do not run.
Slow is good but going fast is not.
CHORUS
Stay away.
Stay away.
From the street unless it’s time to cross.
Stay away.
Stay away.
Because the street is very dangerous.
CHORUS
Watch the lights.
Watch the lights.
Red means stop, and green means go.
Watch the lights.
Watch the lights.
They will tell you what you need to know.
CHORUS
I like that the lyrics to this song can be easily modified or added to, since the verses are so simple. There are many other concepts it could cover, such as walk/don’t walk signals, crossing guards, etc. Hopefully Amy can use this tune, or a version of it, to better teach these concepts to her student!
Is there anyway of downloading this song? I’m currently working with a group of young autistic children and I think this song would be really good for them.
Hi there!
To purchase this dowload, go to the “Products” heading and click the “Buy Now” button under Single Song Downloads. Upon receipt of your $1 purchase, I will email the downloadable mp3 file to you. Thanks for reading!
Great one Rachel! Keep up the good work!–Lisa
This is the second time I browsed your site. Nice thing that you are sharing these stuffs to your readers. Your posts can serve as helpful resources for music teachers.
Thanks Rachel for writing and sharing this great song!
I was looking for a song just like this to work on safety concepts with an adult male (29) with autism, though he’s high functioning. I’d noticed every time his mom picks him up, we’re all yelling at him to “watch for cars,” which he simply does not do. This is great, and is still age appropriate. You never disappoint, thank you! I plan to do it today with my guy!