ReadingSongs.comMailing ListFAQOrderContactMonty Harper

"Monty Harper is known for his library friendly songs"
- School Library Journal


 Get a Clue
 Cover Art

Artwork by Michael Orwick

Song Samples

"Get a Clue" Songs

1. Get a Clue
2. Can You Guess?
3. Hanging Out With Heroes at the Library (Detectives Version)
4. Junior Detective's Club
5. There's Something Going On at the Library

"Oklahoma CenTUNEial" Songs

1. Boom Town
2. Oklahoma Land Rush, 1889
3. Oklahoma Heroes at the Library
4. Oklahoma Annie
5. Oklahoma Kids; a Kaleidoscope


Buy the CD

 

Song Lyrics


"Get a Clue" Songs

Listen while you read!

1. Get a Clue

I used to lie awake late at night
Questions running round in my mind
Were there ever pirates here? Did they bury treasure near?
Could there still be treasure to find?

I used to pester my mom
I was a never-ending question machine
Why were the mummies mummified? What did the pyramids hide inside?
What do Egyptian hieroglyphs mean?

My mom said you should look for a good
book to help you to

Get a clue. (Become a biblio-slueth)
Get a clue. (In your pursuit of the truth.)
Get a clue. (Be where you need to be.)
Get a clue at your library.

I used to grumble at TV shows
When the information felt incomplete.
They just said a carnotaur was a vicious carnivore
So what kind of meat did he eat?

I used to bug my best friend
I was a question-popping pain on the bus
Will we ever walk on Mars? Is there life among the stars?
Are they out there signaling us?

My friend said you should look for a good
book to help you to
 
(Chorus)

Now I still pester my poor mom
Whenever questions pester me
But these days I’ve been asking her
for a ride to the library
I found books about mummies, carnataurs,
and the lives of a pirate crew
If you have questions, check it out
You’ll be glad you decided to

(Chorus)

 

Buy the CD

2. Can You Guess?

Can you guess what I am?
Can you guess what I am?
Play my eighty eight keys in a row.
Some are black. Some are white.
They make music left and right.
Can you guess what I am? A piano!

Can you guess what I am?
Can you guess what I am?
Grip my sticks with your fingers and thumbs
Make my sound fill the room
With a round crash bang boom
Can you guess what I am? A set of drums!

When we've found three clues
We will know what to do
We will solve the mystery
The piano and drums
Were one and two
Now get ready cause here comes number three

Can you guess what I am?
Can you guess what I am?
You can strum me like a rock n roll star
Plug me in and I sing
With my six metal strings
Can you guess what I am? An electric guitar!

The piano and drums
and electric guitar
These are clues to a mystery
When the curtain goes
up on the stage today
What kind of group will we hear and see?

Can we guess? Yes we can!
Can we guess? Yes we can!
It's as easy as one two three
Can we guess? Yes we can!
Can we guess? Yes we can!
And together we solved a mystery!

Buy the CD

3. Hanging Out With Heroes at the Library, Detectives Version


Chorus:
It’s a foot stomping rope swinging barrel of fun
There’s something in a book for everyone
To make your heart pound faster and your eyes pop out
And get you so riled up you just gotta shout
That the hero of the story is the one you wanna be
I love hanging out with heroes at the library!

Verses:
This diminutive detective always takes the case.
He leaves a note for his mom, then he’s off on the chase.
His clever dog, Sludge, helps him search for clues.
At times he finds he’s stuck and doesn’t know what to do.
Then a pancake snack sets him thinking straight.
Solve a mystery at the library with Nate the Great.

He's a noble-hearted canine and an old cowhand.
He gets no appreciation for protecting his land.
As the head of ranch security his life's on the line.
Sneaking up and jumping on a porcupine.
If something goes awry, he’s the cowdog to thank.
Making rounds at the library with good ol' Hank!

Criminals in Idaville are caught every time
By a sneaker-wearing weapon in the war on crime
Put a quarter on his can, he'll be your private sleuth.
He always sees the clues he needs to get to the truth.
Can you pick up the answers where they’ve been laid down?
Think about it with Encyclopedia Brown

The most talented detective in River Heights
She loves to take the case whenver trouble ignites
Her very best girl friends George and Bess
Are always glad to help her score another success
She’ll tackle any situation just to Get a Clue
Launch a new investigation with Nancy Drew

Buy the CD


4. Junior Detective's Club

We are the Junior Detectives Club
Youth dedicated to pursuit of truth
Observation, deduction, and sheer determination
Will lead us to succeed at being super sleuths

We observe every minuscule detail
As we gather every fingerprint and follow every trail
Our ears are always listening; our eyes are ever peeled
Through careful observation information is revealed

(Chorus)

We deduce what we can’t directly see
Putting two and two together we can solve a mystery
We analyze the clues until we know beyond a doubt
When answers try to hide themselves, deduction brings them out

(Chorus)

We persist in the face of our defeat
No we never give up trying though we may be feeling beat
When we’ve followed every lead and found we haven’t got a clue
It’s sheer determination that will help us carry through

(Chorus)

Buy the CD

5. There's Something Going On At the Library

There's something going on at the library.
It's a mystery, it's a mystery.
There's something going on at the library.
Go there if you dare and see - it's a mystery!

It was shocking and frightning, his head full of lightning,
with his kite and key there stood Benjamin Franklin.
He looked out through his bifocal lens,
and said, "Welcome to the library, friend."

I was hardly through blinking, when standing there thinking
in a stovepipe hat I saw Abraham Lincoln.
He was talking 'bout the war comin' on.
He said, "Something here is terribly wrong."

I checked the encyclopedia to confirm my wildest fears.
These two men had been dead and gone for more than 100 years.
So what were they doing here?

(Chorus)

Now I swear I'm not braggin, I heard someone say "Tag," and
when I turned myself around there stood a 40 foot dragon.
She said, "Welcome to my treasure trove.
Pick out anything you want to take home."

Well, I looked over the scene - so many colorful things -
then my eye fell on the pegasus, a horse with two wings.
And he said, "You can take me out for a ride,
but you'd better bring me back on time."

Someone's imagination thought these creatures up long ago,
yet here stood were in front of me just as plain as my big toe.
Tell me, how can it be so!

(Chorus)

It was exciting and shocking, all those animals talking.
There were dinosaurs with pompadours and skeletons walking.
I began to take a good look around.
Every shelf held something new to be found.

I saw tornadoes and blizzards and witches and wizards
and deep in a volcano, some guitar playing lizards.
I met gold medal olympic stars
and little lost men from Mars.

Now I know I saw everything I said, but I imagine you don't believe.
You may say it's all in my head, still it feels so real to me.
Don't ask me how it can be!

(Chorus)

  

Buy the CD


"Oklahoma CenTUNEial" Songs

Listen while you read!

6. Boom Town

Big big news, the kind I like
Wildcatter made an oil strike
I'm heading for the field to learn some more
Gonna take me out a lease on that reservoir
There's black gold gushing from the number one rig
You don't wanna miss this it's gonna be big

Boom town boom town
We're gonna build a boom town baby
Boom town boom town
We're gonna build a boom town baby
There's a fortune to be found
Pumping money from the ground
In our boom town boom town
We're gonna build a boom town

Jobs jobs jobs for tough young men
Hauling pipe and lumber in
Putting up derricks, breaking down soil
Driving down drill bits, pumping up oil
Come pitch your tent and earn your pay
Roustabouts are starting out at six bucks a day in our

Chorus

Derricks bloom like daisies; Popping up all over
Tanks are overflowing; Spilling down the river
Oil fills every plate cup and pitcher
Everybody's busy; Everybody's richer

Bang bang bang our boom town grows
Now we've got two picture shows
Twelve rooming houses, five pool halls
Restaurants built with wood plank walls
The future of our city burns bright and clear
A man'll be proud to raise a family here in our

Chorus

Tonkawa, Garber, Glenpool, Tulsa, these are boom towns baby
Bartlesville, Healdton, Drumright, and Oilton, these are boom towns baby
Shamrock, Cromwell, Oklahoma City,  Burbank, Cushing, Seminole, Wewoka
These are boom towns baby; Oklahoma boom towns
Oklahoma boom towns, baby; Gonna build a boom town
Gonna build a boom town baby; Gonna build a boom town

Buy the CD


7. Oklahoma Land Rush, 1889

Fifty thousand Boomers are lined up to go
What's your plan of action when the buglers blow?
Getting in quick is the bottom line
It’s the Oklahoma Land Rush, 1889.

Up in Wichita folk'll explain
You better get a ticket for the Santa Fe train
They're packing them cars like sardine cans
They'll be riding the rail
Woo, woo!
To the promised lands
Will YOU ride the rail? Woo, woo!
Getting in quick is the bottom line
It’s the Oklahoma Land Rush, 1889

I heard rumors flying on the wind
Darn them Sooners - they's already in!
All staked out before the break of dawn
Now they're hiding in the bushes
Shh shh!
Until the race is on
Will you ride in on the rail? Woo, woo!
Will you hide in the bushes? Shh, shh!
Getting in quick is the bottom line
It’s the Oklahoma Land Rush, 1889

I met a young Yankee with a confident air
Spent three hundred dollar on a thoroughbred mare
Well he may be first to reach his goal
Unless he races that horse
Giddyup, giddyup!
Into a gopher hole
Will you ride in on the rail? Woo, woo!
Will you hide in the bushes? Shh, shh!
Will you race in on a horse? Giddyup, giddyup!
Getting in quick is the bottom line
It’s the Oklahoma Land Rush, 1889

I heard about a lady who peddled all the way
Through the Cherokee Strip to be here today
And when the race takes off she'll be sweating in the heat
Bouncing cross the prairie
Boing, boing!
On a bicycle seat
Will you ride in on the rail? Woo, woo!
Will you hide in the bushes? Shh, shh!
Will you race in on a horse? Giddyup, giddyup!
Will you bounce in on a bicycle? Boing, boing!
Getting in quick is the bottom line
It’s the Oklahoma Land Rush, 1889

I read it in the paper bout an Indiana man
With big imagination and a high-falutin’ plan
If the breeze blows luck this flying buffoon
Will float above the crowd
Whoosh whoosh
In a hot air balloon!
Will you ride in on the rail? Woo, woo!
Will you hide in the bushes? Shh, shh!
Will you race in on a horse? Giddyup, giddyup!
Will you bounce in on a bicycle? Boing, boing!
Will you fly in a balloon? Whoosh, whoosh!
Getting in quick is the bottom line
It’s the Oklahoma Land Rush, 1889

Now here's an old granny says, "I got it made
Got a team of horses I'm hitching to a blade
Before the bugle fades I'll be claiming a place
Gonna dig my plow
H'ya, h'ya!
One step into the race!"
Will you ride in on the rail? Woo, woo!
Will you hide in the bushes? Shh, shh!
Will you race in on a horse? Giddyup, giddyup!
Will you bounce in on a bicycle? Boing, boing!
Will you fly in a balloon? Whoosh, whoosh!
Will you dig in with a plow? H’ya, h’ya!
Getting in quick is the bottom line
It’s the Oklahoma Land Rush, 1889

It’s the Oklahoma Land Rush, 1889
Fifty thousand Boomers are crowding that line
Keep your eyes on the prize, your heart set to go
What's your plan of action when the buglers blow?

Buy the CD


8. Oklahoma Heroes at the Library

Chorus:
It’s a foot stomping rope swinging barrel of fun
There’s something in a book for everyone
To make your heart pound faster and your eyes pop out
And get you so riled up you just gotta shout
That the hero of the story is the one you wanna be
I love hanging out with heroes at the library!

Verses:
He was a fancy trick roper on Vaudeville
Where his clever commentary moved him up the bill
By the thirties he was famous as a Hollywood star
He wrote a daily quote read near and far
He could poke good fun at anyone from babies to codgers
Get a chuckle at the library with Will Rogers

The most decorated gymnast in the USA
Her attitude keeps her Winning Every Day
Even when the press said she was too old
She proved 'em wrong and captured an olympic gold
Her bar, beam, floor routines, and vaults were all killer
Turn a cartwheel to the library with Shannon Miller

His friends felt certain he had gone insane
But this Cherokee silversmith was using his brain
He invented a system he called talking leaves
It was an alphabet that let his people write and read
His name is on a book award so you can enjoy a
Winner at the library with Sequoyah

He was born Frank Eaton in the wild wild west
But his nickname proved he could shoot the best
He was a rootin tootin lawman; he would rarely fail
To put the bad guys out or bring 'em in to jail
You see his likeness where the OSU Cowboys meet
Fill your hands at the library with Pistol Pete

Buy the CD


9. Oklahoma Annie

I am an Oklahoma cowgirl
I ride an Oklahoma pony
Her name is Oklahoma Annie
Oklahoma Annie can do anything!
I love my Oklahoma Annie
I love my Oklahoma Annie

We were counting all the butterflies in our back yard
When the world grew darker and the wind blew hard
The sky took to turning and a twister came down
It tore across the prairie heading straight for town!
I called Oklahoma Annie!
Oklahoma Annie!
Oklahoma Annie came thundering in
She ran circles round that funnel with an opposite spin
That F4 tornado went 3 2 1
And there was nothing left swirling by the time she was done.
The headlines read: Tornado Blown Away
Oklahoma Annie Saves the Day!

Chorus

We were singing to the cattle in the bright moonlight   
When a horrible howl rose into the night
A thousand lean coyotes in a dangerous mood
Were breaking into houses and stealing people’s food!
I called Oklahoma Annie!
Oklahoma Annie!
Oklahoma Annie charged into the zone
She called to all the horses she had ever known
She lead the horse army in a counter-attack
A thousand coyotes went whimpering back
The headlines read: Coyotes Run Away
Oklahoma Annie Saves the Day!

Chorus

Train wrecks, rattle snakes, cattle stampedes
Whatever the challenge is Annie succeeds
Brave as Wonder Woman; Strong as Supergirl
I wouldn’t ever trade her for the whole wide world

Chorus

Buy the CD


10. Oklahoma Kids: a Kaleidoscope

We are Oklahoma kids
We are Oklahoma's future
We shine bright with every color
A Kaleidoscope

We speak Chinese we speak Spanish
We speak Arabic and English
Some among us hear our Grandpas
Speaking Cherokee or Choctaw

We are dark skinned we are light skinned
We are cowboys we are Indians
We have ancestors who came here
For a thousand different reasons

Some laid tracks that brought the train
Some drove cattle some grew grain
Some were soldiers others oilmen
Some were slaves and some were freemen

Some rode in on covered wagons
Others walked from distant homelands
We were born here we were brought here
Somehow all our families got here

So we share a common land we call our own

We are Oklahoma kids
We are Oklahoma's future
We shine bright with every color
A Kaleidoscope

We're explorers and we're tryers
We're bike riders and kite flyers
We play baseball, we play soccer
She's a rapper, he's a rocker

From the cities to the rural routes
We are Brownies; we are Boy Scouts
We do Tae Kwon Do and ballet
And we dream what we'll be someday

We'll be singers with guitars
We'll be athletes; we'll be stars
We'll be scientists and teachers
Veterinarians and preachers
 
We'll build roads and we'll build robots
We'll be farmers we'll be astronauts
However far we end up going
Today we're learning and we're growing

Here together in this land we call our home

We are Oklahoma kids
We are Oklahoma's future
We shine bright with every color
A Kaleidoscope



All songs ©2007 by Monty Harper
Except "Can You Guess," ©2007 by Monty and Mr. Billy, and "Oklahoma Annie" ©2007 by Monty and Evalyn Harper. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted here by permission.



Buy the CD


 

ReadingSongs.comJoin our mailing list!
 Name: Email: