Recently I discovered that to my great delight I am not the only one who sings Moo, Baa, La, La, La! by Sandra Boynton to the tune of Bad Romance by Lady Gaga. Jayme Champagne, Youth Services Librarian at Wake County Public Libraries and wonderful human being, also channels her inner Little Monster at storytime. She has been working in libraries for over 19 years and enjoys mooing and baaing with little ones every week.
After comparing notes we realized we sing it differently, so we’re sharing both versions. As a bonus, you can hear us sing them as well! If you are reading this post via email subscription I recommend viewing it on a desktop so the lyrics table displays properly.
Jayme’s Version
Jayme’s version doesn’t follow the song exactly, but it uses parts of the melody. She has also noted where she has made slight revisions.
| Moo, Baa, La La La! | Rah rah ah-ah-ah |
| Cow says moo-moo-moo. (Revision: added two moos) | Ro mah ro-mah-mah |
| Sheep says baa-baa-baa. (Revision: added two baas) | Gaga ooh-la-la |
| Three singing pigs say la la la! | Gaga ooh-la-la |
| “No, no, no! That isn’t right. (Revision: added a ‘no’ & removed ‘you say’) | Love-love-love, I want your love. |
| The pigs say oink all day and night.” | Love-love-love, I want your love. |
| Rhinoceroses snort and snuff | I want your horror, I want your design |
| And little dogs go ruff ruff ruff! | ‘Cause you’re a criminal as long as you’re mine |
| Some other dogs go bow wow wow! | I want your love, and I want your revenge |
| And cats and kittens say meow! | You and me could write a bad romance |
| Quack! says the duck. | Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh |
| The horse says neigh. | Oh-oh-oh-oh |
| It’s quiet now, what do you say? | Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh |
Lindsey’s Version
I highly recommend “reading” the book a few times so the caregivers learn the tune and join in with you on the second or third read through. The book is so short that it works fine.
| Ra-ra, ah-ah-ah Roma-, roma-ma- Gaga, ooh, la-la Want your bad romance | Moo, Baa, La, La, La Moo, Baa, La, La, La Moo, Baa, La, La, La by Sandra Boynton |
| I want your ugly, I want your disease I want your everything as long as it’s free I want your love Love, love, love, I want your love | A cow says moo, A sheep says baa Three singing pigs say La, La, La. La, La, La, La La, La, La, La, La, La |
| I want your drama, the touch of your hand I want your leather-studded kiss in the sand I want your love Love, love, love, I want your love | “No, no!” you say, “that isn’t right.” The pigs say oink all day and night. Oink, oink, oink, oink Oink, oink, oink, oink, oink, oink |
| You know that I want you And you know that I need you I want it bad, your bad romance | (skip) |
| I want your love and I want your revenge You and me could write a bad romance I want your love and all your lover’s revenge You and me could write a bad romance | Rhinoceroses snort and snuff And little dogs go ruff, ruff, ruff Some other dogs go bow, wow, wow And cats and kittens say meow |
| Ra-ra, ah-ah-ah Roma-, roma-ma- Gaga, ooh, la-la Want your bad romance | (skip) |
| I want your ugly, I want your disease I want your everything as long as it’s free I want your love Love, love, love, I want your love | Quack! Says the duck. A horse says neigh. It’s quiet now. What do you say? Moo Baa La La Moo Baa La La La La La |
A huge thank you to Jayme for not only sharing her creativity, but also her beautiful singing voice with the wider world!
Do you sing any books to different or unusual tunes? Please share in the comments.
I am living for this y’all. Jayme needs to narrate some audio books. My favorite part is in your version when the melody drops down for “by Sandra Boyton”
What I would give to be an attendee in Jayme’s storytime and listen to that voice every week!
You are too kind, Lindsey!! 🙂 Thank you for including me in this post so I can add “moos well with others” to my resume, haha!
Thank you, Alyssa! 🙂 I think I’m in danger of wanting to sing all my books now. I have to calm down! 😀
Someone in libraryland once said they read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? to the tune of the Oompa Loompa song and I can’t hear it another way now.
OH MY GOD. This is life changing. I will never read Brown Bear the same again.
I am placing a hold on it right! now!
More of this please! I use your Single Ladies rhyme all the time for baby storytime and it brings everyone so much joy! It inspired me to do a shake it off rhyme with the shaker eggs. Excited to add some Gaga to the mix. Thanks for sharing.
I’d love to hear how you do the lyrics for the shake it off rhyme!
Love this post! Please direct me to where I can find this “Single Ladies” rhyme!
I think she means this video we did years ago!
https://youtu.be/Qv7HmXhqzMI?si=_qmK6GvYY2Dgz4Dg
Love Love Love both versions…and will be singing along.
So glad you like them!
I La La la love this so much!
Best comment ever, Wendy!
This is a game changer! I love it! Thank you for sharing!
I hope your storytime families love it as much as I do!
This is truly the best find on the internet
This is amazing my class loves it!