Stegosaurus and Iguanodon Songs

[Amado Narvaez <anarvaez@umd5.umd.edu>]

If you've been on this list for a while, you may remember the original
dinosaur-related songs I've posted from time to time for use by educators
and others. I've never been totally happy with the Stegosaurus and
Iguanodon songs I posted, and finally came up with these two new ones.

As always, I reserve the copyright for the lyrics, but use by non-profit
organizations is permitted. An acknowledgement to me is appropriate in any
printed reference to the songs.

--Stegosaurus--
    Note: I don't know the original source for the melody. Allan Sherman
used the music for one of his song parodies called "Here's to the
Crabgrass," and I'm guessing that he based the song on music currently in
the public domain. If anyone can tell me the original source for the
music, I'd appreciate it. Lou Smith is credited with the arrangement, I
think. If by chance the music is still protected by copyright, the "song"
will become a poem :-) and I'll go back to the virtual keyboard.

Here's Stegosaurus,
Standing right before us,
Cooling plates upon his back!
Spikes on his tail that
He can use to flail at
Allosaurs when they attack!

He's a friendly herbivore,
Late Jurassic dinosaur,
Brain that was walnut-sized, they say.
But his spikes could tear apart
Predators and they would "smart,"
Giving him time to run away!

Here's Stegosaurus,
Standing right before us--
A Late Jurassic di-no-saur!

---Iguanodon--
(to the tune of Stephen Foster's "Camptown Races" in the public domain)

This is the Iguanodon--See his spike thumb!
This is the Iguanodon--Spike for his thumb!
Thirty-three feet long! Weighed about three tons!
You'll recognize him easily just by his thumbs!

When they first discovered him, they made errors!
When they first discovered him, they made mistakes!
First they put the spike here upon his nose,
But fossils show that on his hand is where it goes!

Early in Cretaceous times you will find him;
Early in Cretaceous times, munching on leaves.
No one really knows what the spike was for--
Maybe self-defense against megalosaurs!

This is the Iguanodon--See his spike thumb!
This is the Iguanodon--Spike for his thumb!
Thirty-three feet long! Weighed about three tons!
You'll recognize him easily just by his thumbs!

   Note: It was Bonnie Blackwell who suggested that metric measurements be
used, which means the third line of the first and last verses would be:

He's ten meters long; weighs about three tons!

If you know "Camptown Races," you'll note that I shortened the last line
of each stanza, so there's not a perfect one-for-one note correspondence.
Compare the lyric for the original with the dinosaur version:

I      bet my mon  ey  on  the bob-tailed nag, somebody bet on the bay
You'll rec og nize him         eas  i     ly            

and the "just by his thumbs" follows the notes of "oh, doo-dah day!"

(I am not trained in music, so you'll have to forgive my attempt to
explain the melody.)

If there are any errors in the "facts," let me know and I'll try to
correct them. I've seen various statistics on the length and weight of
Iguanodon and based the 10 meters on the info in Lessem and Glut's
Dinosaur Encyclopedia. The brain size of Stegosaurus I've found described
variously as "golf ball-sized" to "door knob-sized," but opted for the
walnut-size from Norell, Gaffney and Dingus's _Discovering Dinosaurs in
the AMNH_.

----- Amado Narvaez