I Had An Old Coat....a recyling song and more fabulous recycling projects!

Yes! It's another recycling blog!

Instead of a story for this blog, I have a song.
This song, I HAD AN OLD COAT, is based on a a Yiddish folksong I used in my May blog.

And that Yiddish song was the inspiration for the The Thrifty Tailor story from my April blog.

And it was also the inspiration for the book Joseph had A Little Overcoat by Simms Taback (you can read the book at pbskids.org). The picture at the top of the blog came from this book.


I HAD AN OLD COAT
written by Paul Kaplan

I had an old coat and the coat got torn, what'll I do
I had an old coat and the coat got torn, what'll I do
I had an old coat and the coat got torn
So I cut it down and a jacket was born
And I sing every day of my life.

In a couple of years those threads got thin, what'll I do.
In a couple of years those threads got thin, what'll I do.
In a couple of years those threads got thin
So I called it a shirt and I tucked it in
And I sing every day of my life.

Then the arms wore out in the East and West, what'll I do.
Those arms wore out in the East and West, what'll I do.
The arms wore out in the East and West
So I pulled them off and I had a vest
And I sing every day of my life.

Then the vest got stained with cherry pie, what'll I do.
That vest got stained with cherry pie, what'll I do.
The vest got stained with cherry pie
So I cut and sewed 'til I had a tie
And I sing every day of my life.

Soon that tie was looking lean, what'll I do
Soon that tie was looking lean, what'll I do
Soon that tie was looking lean
But I made a fat patch for my old blue jeans
And I sing every day of my life.

When that patch was next to nuttin', what'll I do
When that patch was next to nuttin', what'll I do
When that patch was next to nuttin'
I rolled it up into a button
And I sing every day of my life.

When that button was almost gone, what'll I do
When that button was almost gone, what'll I do
When that button was almost gone
With what was left I made this song
Which I sing every day of my life.

copyright: Paul Kaplan Music, 1985

So far I have 3, oops! make that 4, craft vids for you.
The first vid is for younger children although admittedly the adult has to do a lot of the work but it's still fun for the kids.
The other vids are for older kids that can either hand sew or use a sewing machine.

This is a really cute and simple craft but adults and caution are required.


This one is almost no sew. Great for the younger kids. They will only need a little help and supervision with the scissors.





Love the music used in this vid!
Great directions for turning a sweater into a great purse.


Recycled Sweater Pants for Toddlers Directions at That's Kinda Cool