One of my all-time favorite songs from grade school was the Umiak Kayak song, which taught us a few "Eskimo words." Since I have not found what I believe to be the correct version of this song anywhere on the entire WWW, I provide it here as a public service.
Umiak, kayak, mukluk, tupik,
Umiak, kayak, mukluk, tupik,
Umiak, kayak, Eskimo words,
Learn them if you can.
Umiak, a boat for many men,
Kayak, a boat for one man,
Umiak, kayak, Eskimo words,
Learn them if you can.
Mukluk, an Eskimo boot,
Tupik, an Eskimo tent.
If you heard an Eskimo say these words,
You'd know exactly what he meant.
Umiak, kayak, mukluk, tupik,
Umiak, kayak, mukluk, tupik,
Umiak, kayak,
Eskimo words,
Learn them if you can.
The beauty of this song is in the dramatic dynamics of the ending. I'll be providing the musical notation for the simple but compelling melody shortly. According to Wikipedia, the umiak is a women's boat, and the kayak a men's boat. But the umiak is indeed considerably larger than the kayak, so the song seems roughly accurate, if improperly gendered.
Singing together was a wonderful part of the early grades.
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I've been singing that song for the past two weeks and my daughter thought it was something I made up.
ReplyDeleteI just bought some mukluks and I started singing this song and my son said shut up lol I don't want to hear no made up song ha ha ha I'm 60 and I still remember this song from like 2nd grade lol
DeleteMy husband just said that you can buy mukluks on line, so I needed to sing "that" song to him...he had never heard it. I remember it from grade school in the early 1960's. I always assumed it became popular because Alaska had just become a state and it was a way of introducing some native Alaskan words to us kids.
DeleteThank you so much for posting this. I too remember this from Mrs. Shuttleworths 4 th Grade Music Class in Stratford, CT. After all these years it comes to mind every now and then. That and ducking and covering under our desks preparing for Armageddon.
DeleteI just sang this to my friend going to Alaska! Nobody else has ever heard of it!
DeleteThis is hilarious! I was just going for a toothpick in the kitchen and started. singing this song. My wife looks at me strange & I asked her, didn't you sing this in music class? She said no. So I just remembered the basic beginning of the song and I started singing it again and googled it and came up to this site. What's funny is seeing that someone else on 3/23, posted also from Stratford CT. like at one time myself, that my fourth grade teacher Mrs Crawford & our class singing that at Chapel Street School, 1970!
Deletethanks for posting the "eskimo words" song. last night i was feeling sick (fever, chills, etc.) and some of the words to the song were running through my head. i guess i was doing a kind of life review and recollecting the fun i had singing that song as a child.
ReplyDeleteGod. I thought I dreamt this song as a child or something. Been searching for it everywhere.
ReplyDeleteHi Bill, I'm very inerested in the writen music of this song. I can't find the melody on the internet. Can you help me?
ReplyDeleteGilles Michels
yes yes, yes. That Umiak, Kayak, Mukluk, ????? (forgotten by me) part has gone through my head off and on over the years, and now even moreso since I've taken up ocean kayaking. Dang it anyhow, but glad I am not alone in the dated memories. And thanks for putting it web-findable.
ReplyDeleteMy best friend and I discovered in college that we had both learned this song in grade school and neither of us has met anyone else that remembers it. I am so happy that you all do!
ReplyDeleteWow! What a blast from the past. This goes back to some of my earliest memories. Back to around 1960. A distinct memory from my earliest school days. I think I may have retained at least part of the melody as well. If anyone knows a site where me might listen to the song, please post it. Thanks for posting the lyrics, Bill.
ReplyDeleteI remember the song.3rd grade 1968.i was trying to remember def. Of mukluk and tupik
DeleteI saw the new eskimo female model last night on TV and instantly started chanting umiak kayak mukluk tupik over and over everyone thought I was stoned
DeleteOur 2nd grade class learned this song from Miss Gibson at Hillcrest Elementary School in Tuners Falls MA 1968
DeleteOMG! I remember singing this song in elementary school! However, I don't remember there being so many lyrics to it; I guess I must have shortened it considerably over the years!
ReplyDeleteMy dad has been singing this song for YEARS! He said it is a song he learned in grade school. We tried searching for the lyrics over a year ago (before this post) and couldn't find them. He called me and told me about this blog and I had to comment! Thank you for this!
ReplyDeleteFor some strange reason I have been singing this song for the last couple days. I learned it in grade school in the mid 60's.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome to have found all the words again. I'm 49 and I remember learning this in elementary school. Ever-so-often, I'd sing it. My kids thought I was crazy singing crazy words. This proves I'm not crazy. Thanks for the memory!
ReplyDeleteI am 50 and this was a song my best friend and neighbor used to sing all the time playing together. One of our favorite for sure. I found your blog a while back doing a search and was trying to find a school songbook with the song in it. Good memories!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I found this on the Internet. I'm so happy.
ReplyDeleteI sang this when I was in grade school also (1968). For some reason, I was singing it on the way to work this morning. When I arrived, I immediately did a search on it. Lo and behold, here I am. I love it!
ReplyDeleteYou made my day!!! Do you or anyone commenting know the song that is about Cousin Helen Brown and yams that will be killed due to a creeping weed, "Bahama Grass"? Great grade school song... I am 49 if this helps with giving you the right era. Thanks-Tammy
ReplyDeleteUh! Uh! Oh! Cousin Helen Brown, sit right down, fore we go downtown, Let me tell you what I have found Bahama Grass go Killa mi yam...
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DeleteUh! Uh! Oh! Cousin Helen Brown
DeleteSit a while 'fore you go downtown.
Let me tell you Cousin what I have found Bahama grass go Kill'a me yams
Plenty room is what my yams need
Yams won't grow with the creeping weed
I have many children that I must feed
Bahama grass go kill'a me yams!
(Our music teacher explained to us that i"creeping weed" was a code for marijuana. It was @ 1963, I was in the fifth grade and had no clue what that meant.)
Thank you! This song rattles around in my head unfinished from grade school in Bangor, ME. My brain was filling in toothpick for tupik. Never thought I'd be able to track it down from the mid 1960's.
Delete3rd verse
DeleteI don't care what the people say
People can't help me, anyway
If they come and ask me, then I will say
(All together now)
Bahama grass go killa me yam
You made my day!!! Do you or anyone commenting know the song that is about Cousin Helen Brown and yams that will be killed due to a creeping weed, "Bahama Grass"? Great grade school song... I am 49 if this helps with giving you the right era. Thanks-Tammy
ReplyDeleteI learned this song from my family while growing up (I'm 58) but haven't found any mention of it besides on this page.
DeleteOh my goodness! We sang that song in 5th grade with Mrs. Laughlin back in about 1969. Mrs. Laughlin always told us we needed to enunciate our words more clearly, because we "sounded like mashed potatoes." We lived in a small rural area, and she must have originated in the city. 🤣
DeleteTerrific ! I remember the song from grade school too...back around '68. Thanks for sharing and bringing me back!
ReplyDeleteBest,
John
Cool. Apparently I forgot the second half of each verse, but knew there was something about speaking the language. I don't remember the melody for the words I don't remember, but do for the first halves:
ReplyDeletea c e e d c a c a
a c e e d c a c a
a c e - d c a c b a
a e - d c a c a
In my school the ending was different:
Umiak, kayak
Mukluk, tupik
Arg this page's JavaScript keeps cutting me off before I finish. Here I try again.
ReplyDeleteIn my school the ending was different:
ReplyDeleteUmiak, kayak
Mukluk tupik, Eskimo.....
a c e - -
a e - -
c a c a g g a - - -
My school Polk Street School Franklin Square NY....MRS QUIMBY music class early.6os....I remember it Ending im Eskomo.also.....but what are the LETTERS....did.we sing tjem.out ?
DeleteThank you sooooo much for posting those lyrics. I remember the chorus of the song after.., Lord I don't know how many years, but that song still comes to mind every so often.
ReplyDeleteI've been intending to search it on the net, but never could remember it till today.
One of the few fond grade school memories I have.
I must also add, the ending was the same as the previous Anonymous comment, except I don't remember the "ace ae cacagga" part. From my memory, which at 52 isn't the greatest, the song ended at "Eskimo".
ReplyDeleteMy favorite classroom song in the third grade - 1964 - Texas . Forever in my memory.
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ReplyDeleteLearned this song in grade school early 70's in Ohio....
ReplyDeleteYup - remember this from grade school: Cincinnati suburbs, ca. 1966.
ReplyDeleteI recall learning this song in about 4th grade 1964 in West Hartford, CT. I had forgotten the part after the "kayak" line other than I thought there was a phrase that said "if you learn these Eskimo words" but now I can see how your phrase "If you heard an Eskimo say these words" must be what I recall. This is great!! Thanks for sharing this, as I have thought of it for many years trying to explain it to my husband, who is 1/4 Inuit and never heard the song.
ReplyDeleteI am turning 60 this year and learned this song in elementary school in San Antonio, either Agnes Cotton or Woodrow Wilson. My brain was not fooling me.
ReplyDeleteShannon Funkhouser
I am turning 60 this year and learned this song in elementary school in San Antonio, either Agnes Cotton or Woodrow Wilson. My brain was not fooling me.
ReplyDeleteShannon Funkhouser
I too know this song. Learned it in a school in Virginia.
ReplyDelete1969 in Brooklyn NY...first grade...thank you so much for the lyrics. This is the best!
ReplyDeleteI'm laying in bed recovering from surgery and I was singing this song in my head. The ending I remember is...
ReplyDeleteUmiak, hmmmm, kayak, hmmmm,
Mukluk, tupic, eskimoooo.
I learned this song in grade school, mid 1960's, in St. Louis, MO. So happy to find this post!
Learned in 4th grade in Villisca, Iowa, about 1972! I was just singing it in the shower and thought now's the time to Google and make sure it really exists!
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ReplyDeleteIt's good to have complete lyrics for Bahama Grass and Eskimo Words. I sing them both around the house. In place of "I have many children…" I often have to sing, "If you prick me, cousin, do I not bleed?" from Mr. Shakespeare.
ReplyDeleteAlmost forgot to tag in with when and where. Northern Colorado, circa 1967. Jenny Jenkins and Michael Finnegan are still remembered from what is probably the same year: 6th grade.
I just realized there was another verse to "Bahama Grass" that we sang:
ReplyDeleteI don't care what the people say
People can't help me anyway
If they ask me, Cousin, then I must say:
"Bahama grass go kill-a me yam!"
I have always remembered singing this in grade school many, many, many moons ago. l giggle because l just bought my first pair of mukluks ALTHOUGH they by far are not made in Alaska. l made myself a big fleece parka and the whole time this song has been stuck in my head. Thank you for posting the lyrics so l coukd see mor than the "4 words and the few l know the meaning too but you confirmed l knew them all...just that the Umiak was boat for many men.😀 Thanks for the memories.😊.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for the Internet!!!
Deletewow this saintly however ,I love your enter plus nice pics might be part personss negative love being defrent mind total poeple , kayak anchor system
ReplyDeletethought of this song while contemplating springtime sites for metal detecting.
ReplyDeleteI'm 63 and finally have time for such things.
When reciting it to my wife, I could not remember tupik or the definition.
One thing time can't heal is gaps in memory.
Thanks for the refresher
I have been watching life below 0 today and just remembered this song I could not believe I am 62 years old and it came back to me as if I was in 1st grade singing the song. What wonderful memories.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting....I woke up with this in my head...and after 20 minutes searching...thought no one had it out here...wish I could find the music part...good memories!
ReplyDeleteI learned this song in 6th grade and never have never forgotten it. Having taught school for over 30 years myself, I desperately needed some of words and melody!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bill!!! Julia
I learned this song in 2nd grade in Massachusetts!! So happy to see it here!!
ReplyDeleteSang this in 3rd grade in New Jersey back in 1972, so funny that I found your web site, thanks for the memories.
ReplyDeletePublic Elementary school, grade 2 or 3 Clinton Massachusetts, early 60s. We had a music teacher who came around to the (several) neighborhood schools one afternoon a week (same with art) - each week a lucky student would get to pass around the songbooks (hard cover) - I still recall several of the songs, the Eskimo song being one of my favorites. Our version also ended with Eskimoooo. Those books were filled with treasures. Great memories, thanks!
ReplyDeleteI remember this from kindergarten in Maryland. That was 48 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI learned this song in fifth grade in Bozeman, Montana. I seem to remember it was in a song book. That would have been in 1967.
ReplyDeleteHere's the melody. https://onlinesequencer.net/8600
ReplyDeleteI learned these songs in 4th grade in Scituate, Mass. in 1961-62. Along with Umiak Kayak and the Bahama grass song, there was a song about a Strawberry Roan - that strawberry pony no one ever rode, and the cowboy that tries it is sure to get throwed.....amazing that those music books were used allover the country.
ReplyDeleteI also sang the Bahama grass song in grade school in 1962, but I can’t find the song anywhere in a search. From Cleveland, Ohio to Scituate, Massachusetts 🤓
DeleteJust saw a commercial for the travel site"Kayak" and this song popped into my head. Well part of it,anyway. Thank you for elaborating on the lyrics. Nice blast from the past! 68yrs old not sure what grade I was in when I learned the song.
ReplyDeleteWe sang this song at Donna Park Elementary in Hurst, Texas back in the late 60s. I loved the song and it was fun to sing.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason that song I never forgot, first time I see someone else knows it too !
ReplyDeleteI learned this song at Benton Elementary School in St Louis, Mo. I’m 64 years old. And I still remember it, well.
ReplyDelete62 yrs old. Learned this song at Webster School in Manchester, NH. Thought it was pretty fun. But then, later in college I taught it to my friend Ali. We’ve been cracking up singing it to each other ever since!
ReplyDeleteI remember this! Brings back great memories
ReplyDeleteI just got the clue “kayak kin” in my crossword puzzle. I’m 64. The minute I realized the answer I started what I remembered from elementary school. Of course until reading this, I thought it was “toothpick” which I questioned. I thought I’d look it up because it was such a fond memory and I couldn’t understand what the word toothpick had to do with everything else. Thank you for posting the lyrics but I may stay with “toothpick” anyway. Just for fun.
ReplyDeleteAlso learned this in grade school in the late 60’s in Stevens Point, WI.
ReplyDeleteI learned this song during Vacation Bible School one summer as a kid, I too thought the word "tupik" was pronounced "toothpick" LOL. We also sang The Happy Wanderer, such happy memories.
ReplyDeleteI also always thought it was toothpick. My older sister insisted that it couldn't be toothpick. 50 years later the problem was solved thanks to Bill Sundstrom's blog!!!
DeleteWow, I’m 67 and for some odd reason, I will myself humming that song. Funny how our brains pull up stuff. I too said toothpick.
ReplyDeleteEarly - mid-1960s at Brackett Elementary School, Arlington, Mass. The song ended,
ReplyDelete"Umiaaaaaaaak, kayaaaaaaaak...
Umiak, kayak,
Eskimooooooo!"
hahahaha!
Arlington born and raised! Peirce, but I don’t remember the toon?? Can someone sing it, seeing there’s nothing online for the music?
DeleteThank You and that i have a tremendous offer: Where To Start With Whole House Renovation remodel outside of house
ReplyDeleteI absolutely remember this song from grade school. I’m so psyched to see the lyrics here! 😉
ReplyDelete