WEBVTT 00:00:02.190 --> 00:00:08.514 Coming up on The Children's Hour, we're joined by Kid Pan Alley. It's an organization that 00:00:08.535 --> 00:00:15.680 empowers kids around the United States to write their own songs. We're joined this time by 00:00:15.740 --> 00:00:23.745 Paul and Cheryl Reisler. They've written more than 2,500 songs with more than 70,000 children 00:00:23.745 --> 00:00:30.802 in the last 30 years. Together, our kids crew, Paul and Cheryl, will work to create lyrics 00:00:30.802 --> 00:00:37.122 for a bridge of a song. Explore the fundamentals of music education with us this time on The 00:00:37.122 --> 00:00:43.122 Children's Hour. Stick with us. The Children's Hour is Kids Public Radio produced by The Children's 00:00:43.122 --> 00:00:50.362 Hour Incorporated, a New Mexico nonprofit. Find out more about us and see pictures and links 00:00:50.362 --> 00:00:57.582 related to this show at ChildrensHour.org. It's time for The Children's Hour, Kids Public 00:00:57.582 --> 00:00:58.322 Radio. 00:01:04.582 --> 00:01:11.922 What am I if I stand up my whole life? I don't know what! A tree! Ha, ha, ha! 00:01:15.742 --> 00:01:20.102 It's time for The Children's Hour Kids Public Radio. 00:01:31.342 --> 00:01:33.170 It's a 00:03:25.006 --> 00:03:26.229 singing and singing and 00:04:15.694 --> 00:04:22.754 That's Lyre le Temps from Outside the Box with Beautiful Day. You're listening to The Children's Hour 00:04:22.754 --> 00:04:28.614 and I'm Katie Stone. I am so happy to be with everyone today on the show, including all of 00:04:28.614 --> 00:04:36.034 you out in listener land and all of these kids on Zoom. Hello, everyone. Hello. And who's 00:04:36.034 --> 00:04:42.834 with us today? Hello, it's Amadeus. Hi, it's Jo. Hi, it's Sonia. Hi, it's Ethan. Hi, it's 00:04:42.834 --> 00:04:49.821 Illuminata. Hi, it's Anahi. Hi friends, it's Melissa. Hi, it's Cade. Well, I'm so delighted everybody's 00:04:49.821 --> 00:04:56.484 with us today. Thank you for being here. And on the show today, we've got Kid Pan Alley 00:04:56.485 --> 00:05:03.819 and they are famous for writing songs with kids, classrooms of kids, schools of kids. We're 00:05:03.819 --> 00:05:09.212 going to learn a lot more about it. And I think we're going to be writing a song together today. 00:05:09.292 --> 00:05:12.994 Stick with us. This is The Children's Hour and this is Kid Pan Alley. 00:05:21.590 --> 00:05:33.990 Things I don't know oh I don't know if she's got a brain I don't know if it's gonna rain. 00:05:33.990 --> 00:05:38.034 And I really don't know his name I don't know 00:06:09.581 --> 00:06:18.602 I'll get a piece of coal and a rubber duck. And a goldfish on a string. I'll get breath mints 00:06:18.602 --> 00:06:27.026 and underwear. And all the love my family can share this year 00:06:42.035 --> 00:06:46.290 I our love's what I know. Yes, our love is what I know. 00:07:21.774 --> 00:07:26.712 Every time she tags me my knees go weak 00:07:49.048 --> 00:07:51.026 Taking all of me out of. 00:07:54.478 --> 00:08:11.168 I'm embarrassed to admit I told her quit and all I always got uh song. 00:08:14.702 --> 00:08:26.451 I tried to run away, but she always makes me stay. She's taking all of me out of my 00:08:26.451 --> 00:08:34.770 I'm scared of her. Every time she tags me my knees go weak I collapse in a puddle I fall. 00:08:43.832 --> 00:08:49.312 She's a tongue twister, she's worse than my sister It's just plain scary like. 00:09:31.918 --> 00:09:32.359 Tell her. 00:10:00.334 --> 00:10:09.027 This song I will sing for you. It is about some very important people in my life. Let 00:10:09.027 --> 00:10:17.349 me tell you. Well, I've got 12 pet pigeons and a chihuahua named Mohican, a few cute 00:10:17.349 --> 00:10:26.642 fish and a parrot named Maria. They keep me from getting lonely since I moved from California. 00:10:26.642 --> 00:10:38.126 Still my best friend will always be you Best friends, they always by your side. Yes 00:10:38.126 --> 00:10:48.033 they are. Best friends, they stand the test of time. They cheer you on. Best friends, 00:10:48.033 --> 00:10:56.580 all they will cheer you on. They will be by your side while you are young, even as you 00:10:56.580 --> 00:11:07.630 get older. Yes. So here I am in Dallas With enough pets to fill a palace. And all I can 00:11:07.630 --> 00:11:10.034 do is think of you. 00:11:13.422 --> 00:11:26.516 And pizza with anchovies Still my best friend will always be you. Oh my best friends. They're 00:11:26.516 --> 00:11:34.808 always by your side Don't you worry. Best friends. They stand the test of time. They cheer you 00:11:34.808 --> 00:11:42.290 on. Best friends. Let's do it for my best friends. 00:12:01.493 --> 00:12:11.054 I've got four big diaries, one page for every secret, and the worst kept secret is that I 00:12:11.054 --> 00:12:20.053 miss you. It's time to find some new friends! Go to the park and play with them. But my best 00:12:20.053 --> 00:12:28.370 friend will always be you. Don't you worry, you're not be flased! Best friends, they're always 00:12:28.370 --> 00:12:36.217 by your side. Don't you worry, best friends. They stand the test of time, they cheer you 00:12:36.217 --> 00:12:50.568 on. Best friends, oh best Best friends, they always by your side. Best friends, they stand 00:12:50.568 --> 00:13:01.804 the test of time. They cheer you on. Best friends, they will cheer you on. Best friends, 00:13:01.804 --> 00:13:04.786 they cheer you on. 00:13:11.950 --> 00:13:20.502 Listen what I tell you man! That's a little sample of Kid Pan Alley right here on The 00:13:20.502 --> 00:13:27.495 Children's Hour. That one that you just heard was featuring Vance Gilbert. It's called Best 00:13:27.495 --> 00:13:33.308 Friends and it's the title track from that release. I always Come Back For More was Ellis 00:13:33.308 --> 00:13:40.151 Paul and the one before that I Don't Know was from Tidal Wave of Song. You're listening to 00:13:40.151 --> 00:13:45.982 The Children's Hour and today on the show we are delighted. to have some of the world's 00:13:45.982 --> 00:13:54.562 most prolific songwriters of all time, Kid Pan Alley's Paul and Cheryl Reisler. Welcome to 00:13:54.562 --> 00:14:01.362 The Children's Hour. Well, thanks so much. You have written more than 2,500 songs with over 00:14:01.362 --> 00:14:08.302 30,000 children. And well we're kids here on The Children's Hour, and I think we want to 00:14:08.302 --> 00:14:12.786 know what you do. Well, we've written a lot of songs since, I guess, we put that on our 00:14:12.896 --> 00:14:19.982 website. We've written about 2,700 songs with about 70,000 children now. So it's a lot of 00:14:19.982 --> 00:14:28.109 songs. We started Kid Pan Alley 22 years ago, or almost 23 years ago now. We've written songs 00:14:28.109 --> 00:14:35.776 about every imaginable thing from love songs to bilingual songs to songs about the earth. 00:14:35.776 --> 00:14:43.276 And there's just a song about every imaginable thing now. Wow. You've written a lot of works, 00:14:43.276 --> 00:14:50.088 but you've also published a lot of CDs and you've even been nominated for a Grammy. And we want 00:14:50.088 --> 00:14:55.370 to play your music today on the show, but we also, wonder if you'll kind of take us through 00:14:55.370 --> 00:15:01.802 a little maybe exercise of what you do. Sure. We'll take a song that is from one of our 00:15:01.802 --> 00:15:07.853 albums. It's a song called Skin. It's from our album, One Little Song Can Change the World, 00:15:07.853 --> 00:15:13.446 which is all songs about things with character. It's a song I wrote with kids down in Elkin, 00:15:13.706 --> 00:15:17.906 North Carolina. I asked them, what do you want to, you know we go in and say, what do you want 00:15:17.906 --> 00:15:22.926 to write about today? And they wanted to write about racism. And they wrote this beautiful 00:15:22.926 --> 00:15:28.326 song about skin. I want to know who you are. Don't want to judge you by your car. Do you 00:15:28.326 --> 00:15:34.086 speak the truth? Can you sing like Ray? I want to hear what you have to say. Skin, it can 00:15:34.086 --> 00:15:39.386 be pretty thin. Skin, it's just the suit you're in. And I think I'll play a little bit of it. 00:15:39.646 --> 00:15:45.917 And what we'll do is we'll write a bridge for it. Now, that's a different section than what is 00:15:45.917 --> 00:15:51.242 here already. So in other words, the bridge is going to be a contrasting section. We have 00:15:51.242 --> 00:15:56.415 verses and choruses here. The verse has different words each time. That's where we tell the story. 00:15:56.835 --> 00:16:01.317 The chorus has the same words each time. That's where we give kind of the overview. And the 00:16:01.317 --> 00:16:06.480 bridge is just a different section that connects two choruses together. It only happens once. 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:11.546 It's usually short. But I'll play a little bit of skin here for you. And so you can hear 00:16:11.546 --> 00:16:12.470 what it sounds like. 00:16:39.182 --> 00:16:43.687 And this is the bridge part. Okay, okay, let's hear the original song. This is coming off 00:16:43.687 --> 00:16:49.074 of a CD called One Little Song Can Change the World. And it can. 00:17:11.134 --> 00:17:28.927 I want to hear what you have to say. Skin, it can be pretty thin. Skin, it's just the 00:17:28.988 --> 00:17:32.370 suit you're in. Skin. 00:17:35.438 --> 00:17:47.523 Skin want to know what's in your heart Don't matter if your skin is light or dark I don't 00:17:47.523 --> 00:17:57.572 care where you live or what you wear. If you got cornrows or straight blonde hair. Skin, 00:17:57.572 --> 00:18:10.066 it can be pretty thin. Skin, it's just the suit you're in. Skin. Skin. 00:18:59.438 --> 00:19:07.916 We stood for, made us think. We're all God's children, all just the same. With different 00:19:07.916 --> 00:19:20.097 faces and different names. Skin, it can be pretty thin. Skin, it's just the suit you're in. 00:19:20.097 --> 00:19:30.643 Skin, it can be pretty thin, skin. Not some pseudonym. 00:19:36.522 --> 00:19:41.810 So beautiful angels in sweet candy. 00:19:51.406 --> 00:20:03.986 Come on, give me. 00:20:09.196 --> 00:20:15.648 That's Kid Pan Alley, and we've got more with them coming right up. You're listening to 00:20:15.648 --> 00:20:23.340 The Children's Hour, Kids Public Radio. We'll be right back. The Children's Hour is a production 00:20:23.340 --> 00:20:28.831 of The Children's Hour Incorporated. We're a New Mexico-based nonprofit organization, and 00:20:28.831 --> 00:20:35.913 we're funded by listeners just like you. Learn more at ChildrensHour.org. The New Mexico Department 00:20:35.913 --> 00:20:41.360 of Cultural Affairs supports The Children's Hour. Celebrate the diverse cultural communities 00:20:41.360 --> 00:20:49.067 of New Mexico at nmculture.org. One Community Auto supports The Children's Hour. Donate your 00:20:49.107 --> 00:20:56.703 unwanted vehicle and help make kids public radio. More information at onecommunityauto.com/TheChildrensHour 00:20:56.703 --> 00:21:06.555 You heard Podington Bear over the break and before the break, Kid Pan 00:21:06.555 --> 00:21:11.807 Alley right here on The Children's Hour. The CD is called One Little Song Can Change the 00:21:11.807 --> 00:21:17.669 World. That's the Skin song. And we're here with Cheryl and Paul Reisler from Kid Pan Alley 00:21:17.669 --> 00:21:25.102 and all our crew. And you say you want us to write a bridge for that song? What? Well, I 00:21:25.102 --> 00:21:29.802 just wanted to give you all an idea of how we work in Kid Pan Alley. I mean, that song's 00:21:29.802 --> 00:21:34.485 pretty complete, but we'll write a short bridge so you can get an idea of how to write songs 00:21:34.485 --> 00:21:39.578 a little bit, because I see some really good songwriters out there in my screen. So a bridge 00:21:39.578 --> 00:21:43.610 is a different section, and it just connects two things together, just like a bridge over 00:21:43.610 --> 00:21:50.084 the river. I would go before, probably before, between two choruses at the end. So, if we were 00:21:50.084 --> 00:21:54.576 saying something totally different, like, you know, here we're talking, someone's saying, 00:21:54.582 --> 00:21:59.222 oh, you know, I want to know what's in your heart, I have a dream. Maybe this is where 00:21:59.222 --> 00:22:03.694 we say something like, well, we should all accept each other or something like that. What do 00:22:03.694 --> 00:22:07.985 you guys think? Who's got an idea for me? One of the things that I think about this song 00:22:07.985 --> 00:22:13.037 that's nice is that it lets us know that in a way, even though we may look different, we're 00:22:13.037 --> 00:22:17.358 all really the same. And we can all share a sense of love for each other, which is one 00:22:17.358 --> 00:22:23.869 of the most important things to do. And it lets us know to always be kind. So it's always 00:22:23.869 --> 00:22:28.942 important to keep that in mind in our day-to-day life. And I think it's a great thing to write 00:22:28.942 --> 00:22:35.347 about. Well, you just wrote the bridge there pretty much. You had a lot of ideas. if anybody 00:22:35.347 --> 00:22:39.480 else has anything they want to add to it there, we're just getting ideas and then we'll write 00:22:39.480 --> 00:22:45.344 the bridge. But you gave us a ton of stuff there, Amadeus. That's fantastic. Who else has an 00:22:45.344 --> 00:22:51.178 idea there? Well, what about the idea of like, everybody has a skin, like birds have skin. 00:22:51.178 --> 00:22:59.693 Oh, that could be kind of cool. You know, birds and snakes, they have their own skin. We love them 00:22:59.693 --> 00:23:06.373 in the suit that they're in. Something like that. That's really cool also. Okay. And any 00:23:06.373 --> 00:23:11.278 of the kids, have, any of your kids have another idea? Well, you have to like treat people with 00:23:11.278 --> 00:23:19.681 respect because not only is that disrespecting them, but it's like still saying that they're 00:23:19.681 --> 00:23:26.996 different and, That's like a thing. Yeah, so we got to treat them with respect and even 00:23:26.996 --> 00:23:31.828 though we're different, we're all the same. So I think we have three directions we could 00:23:31.828 --> 00:23:37.031 go in. So let's decide. One is we got to treat people with respect because even though we're 00:23:37.031 --> 00:23:42.923 different, we're all the same. Another direction could be everything has a skin, birds and snakes. 00:23:43.944 --> 00:23:49.436 It's just the suit they're in. Or we got it. We got to always be kind in our day to day 00:23:49.436 --> 00:23:55.238 life. So let's vote on one, you get one vote, but when you vote, put your hand on your forehead 00:23:55.598 --> 00:23:59.501 so we can see what you're voting for. And so I'm gonna call them out, or Cheryl's gonna 00:23:59.501 --> 00:24:04.425 call them out one at a time here. How many want the bridge to start with? Everything has a 00:24:04.425 --> 00:24:15.134 skin, birds and snakes. One, two, three, four, five. How many would like the bridge to start 00:24:15.134 --> 00:24:22.699 with? Treat everyone with the same respect. Hold them up there, one, two. Okay. And the 00:24:22.699 --> 00:24:28.796 last one, how many would like it to start with, gotta always be kind in our day-to-day life. 00:24:29.318 --> 00:24:40.342 Okay, it was the first one. Yeah, everyone has a skin. Birds and snakes and I want 00:24:40.342 --> 00:24:48.236 to rhyme with skin. Birds and snakes and all the what? How about chameleon? Ooh! And I love 00:24:48.236 --> 00:24:56.079 how they change their skin. Oh! Birds and snakes and chameleons. We're writing a bridge to 00:24:56.079 --> 00:25:02.572 a song with Kid Pan Alley. It's kind of like the work that they do in schools all over 00:25:02.572 --> 00:25:09.248 the country. working with schools and kids and students to write a song collaboratively together. 00:25:09.629 --> 00:25:17.932 They have just written so many songs, over 2,500 of them. But you can hear some of their work 00:25:17.932 --> 00:25:23.345 on releases that they've made. We've got links at childrenshour.org. Look for this episode, 00:25:23.345 --> 00:25:31.537 Kid Pan Alley. But their songs often reflect what's going on in the world in a way. And 00:25:31.537 --> 00:25:37.781 the latest release is no exception. It's called maybe by next year. You're listening to The 00:25:37.781 --> 00:25:39.766 Children's Hour with Kid Pan Alley. 00:25:47.916 --> 00:26:00.161 The of our road is dark and frightening. Going on a journey to reach enlightenment. This is 00:26:00.161 --> 00:26:11.775 for anyone who's ever been silenced. Peace is more than the absence of. A foundation made 00:26:11.775 --> 00:26:21.769 of empathy. A road paved with trust, support and understanding. It takes uh all of us to 00:26:21.769 --> 00:26:30.184 build this bridge to peace. You're starting today for a better tomorrow. 00:26:33.582 --> 00:26:46.131 To the world where we're not trapped by sorrow may oppose us, are strong. If we rise together, 00:26:46.131 --> 00:26:56.754 we can right what's wrong. nation made with empathy. A road paved with trust. Support and 00:26:56.754 --> 00:27:04.818 understanding It takes all of us. To build this bridge to peace. 00:27:08.046 --> 00:27:18.450 Leave your judgments behind, your justice will be served. A foundation made of empathy, a 00:27:18.450 --> 00:27:29.094 road paved with trust, support and understanding. It takes all of us to build this bridge 00:27:29.094 --> 00:27:44.984 to peace. To build this bridge to peace To build this bridge to peace. You're listening 00:27:44.984 --> 00:27:50.647 to The Children's Hour. Our guests are Paul and Cheryl Reisler from Kid Pan Alley. And 00:27:50.647 --> 00:27:58.120 we just wrote the lyrics to a bridge to a song right here on The Children's Hour. Excellent. 00:27:58.240 --> 00:28:02.972 Excellent. OK, now we got to come up with a little music for it. So who can read the first 00:28:02.972 --> 00:28:10.615 line for me? Go ahead there, Anahi. Everyone has a skin, birds and snakes and those shapeshifting 00:28:10.615 --> 00:28:18.986 chameleons. Everything has a skin. birds and snakes and those shapeshifting chameleons. So 00:28:18.986 --> 00:28:26.761 what were we clapping there? We were clapping, it starts with an R. Is it syllables? Well, 00:28:26.761 --> 00:28:32.304 not quite. I mean, we were clapping syllables, but if we just clap syllables, we would go, 00:28:32.304 --> 00:28:39.107 everyone has a skin. Some of the ones are longer and some are shorter. It's a musical 00:28:39.107 --> 00:28:45.859 term. It's called rhythm. And so when we speak, we speak in rhythm. We don't make every syllable the 00:28:45.859 --> 00:28:51.724 same length, but rather we have rhythm. The interesting thing is when we speak, we actually 00:28:51.724 --> 00:28:59.471 speak, our voice goes up and down, it's different pitches. Everyone has skin, birds and snakes 00:28:59.911 --> 00:29:07.378 and those shapeshifting chameleons. You notice how on chameleons our voice kind of went up, 00:29:07.658 --> 00:29:14.723 chameleons. The same thing happens when we think about a melody. It's really just expanding 00:29:15.104 --> 00:29:21.578 the distance in the speech when we sing different notes. So this is where Paul always asks his 00:29:21.578 --> 00:29:30.184 famous question. Who wants to sing? Some people are smiling. They're thinking about it. All 00:29:30.184 --> 00:29:35.958 right. Because this is a bridge, Paul and I are going to sing the chorus, which is right 00:29:35.958 --> 00:29:45.460 here, this part first. And then you're going to come in and sing this part. Alright, just 00:29:45.600 --> 00:30:12.888 sing the first line. We'll get you a prep. Here we go. Everyone has a skin. Birds 00:30:12.888 --> 00:30:18.226 and snakes and those shapeshifting chameleons. 00:30:21.518 --> 00:30:32.028 Had a dream like Dr. King. What he stood for made us think. All God's children are just 00:30:32.028 --> 00:30:44.200 the same. With different faces and different names. Skin, it can be pretty thin. Skin is 00:30:44.200 --> 00:30:46.542 just the suit that your in. 00:30:50.092 --> 00:30:56.425 And so now you have actually helped us make this song a more complete song. It now has 00:30:56.425 --> 00:31:05.458 a verse, a chorus, a verse, another chorus, and now a bridge. You're listening to The Children's 00:31:05.458 --> 00:31:11.421 Hour. Our guests on the show today are from Kid Pan Alley. For over 20 years, they've been 00:31:11.421 --> 00:31:18.934 making music with kids, original songs, and we just wrote a bridge right here on The Children's 00:31:18.934 --> 00:31:23.765 Hour. We're gonna play some of their music. This is from their CD Maybe by Next Year, right 00:31:23.765 --> 00:31:24.918 here on The Children's Hour. 00:31:31.086 --> 00:31:39.966 The stars reached the earth and the broken room said goodbye. We all fell asleep and 00:31:39.966 --> 00:31:50.447 we all saw the sun. We've got to take care, take care of the earth It's the only one 00:31:50.447 --> 00:32:01.975 we've got, this big ball of. We all shine like stars and we all make a wish and we keep 00:32:02.035 --> 00:32:12.988 it in our hearts. Our lives will be our own Let the earth be our canvas, the diamond 00:32:13.008 --> 00:32:23.755 in our sky. Let love show the way, our light always shine. The day the stars reached the 00:32:23.755 --> 00:32:34.281 earth and the broken moon said goodbye, we all fell asleep and we all saw the sun. We've 00:32:34.281 --> 00:32:45.618 got to take care. Take care of the earth It's the only one we've got. This big ball of dirt. 00:32:45.618 --> 00:32:56.718 If we were like the sun. With fire in our eyes. We'd warm the soul of everyone. And our hearts 00:32:56.718 --> 00:33:10.532 would beat as one If we were close to the moon. But we had our own lives Be the candle in It. 00:33:10.532 --> 00:33:13.010 Shines so bright. 00:33:38.798 --> 00:33:48.413 Stars reach the earth and the broken moon said goodbye we all fell asleep and we all saw 00:33:48.413 --> 00:34:00.697 the sun we've got to take care, take care. She's the only one we've got, this big boy 00:34:05.816 --> 00:34:11.389 day the stars reach the earth and the broken moon say goodbye. 00:34:24.302 --> 00:34:31.733 I used to know the names of all the stars. Now I just know a few planets. Like Jupiter, Earth 00:34:31.733 --> 00:34:40.924 and Mars. I used to know the name of every child Back before I was born. Back when I was safe 00:34:40.924 --> 00:34:48.899 and warm. Back when I was flying in the sky. Now I have to go to school. And learn it all 00:34:48.899 --> 00:34:58.838 again. Get good And try to remember. Queen I used to know the words to all the songs. Now 00:34:58.838 --> 00:35:07.190 I only know the melodies and I just I'm alone I used to know the language of the birds 00:35:07.190 --> 00:35:13.442 The robin and the blue jay. I always knew what they would say. The prettiest songs that I have 00:35:13.442 --> 00:35:25.290 ever heard. Now I have to go to school. And learn it all again. The treasure never leaves 00:35:54.786 --> 00:36:03.541 used know the names of every tree. And now they're just a forest in the dusk of evening I used 00:36:03.541 --> 00:36:12.196 to see the garden everything. And now it's just a rustling. A whisper that I'm trusting. When 00:36:12.196 --> 00:36:22.628 the redbud blossoms in the spring to and learn it all again to let my dream take me to the 00:36:22.628 --> 00:36:26.546 place where it began 00:37:08.576 --> 00:37:17.281 sleep and learn it all again and let my dream and take me to the place where it began I 00:37:17.401 --> 00:37:22.570 used to know the names of all the stars 00:37:25.676 --> 00:37:26.418 you 00:37:36.238 --> 00:37:45.642 was passing by my brother called me in and he said to me you'd better take time in life. 00:37:45.783 --> 00:37:54.667 People take time in life people take time in life people take time in life you got far way 00:37:54.667 --> 00:38:04.781 too good I was passing by my sister called me in and she said to me you'd better take time 00:38:04.781 --> 00:38:13.107 in life people. People take time in life People take time in life. People take time in life. 00:38:13.107 --> 00:38:15.954 You got far way to go. 00:38:25.410 --> 00:38:35.436 And I was passing by, my father called me in. And he said to me, better take time in life. 00:38:35.516 --> 00:38:44.471 People take time in life. People take time in life. People take time in life. You got far way 00:38:44.471 --> 00:38:54.535 to go I was passing by my mother called me in and she said to me. You better take time 00:38:54.535 --> 00:39:03.692 in life people take time in life people take time in life people take time in life you got 00:39:03.692 --> 00:39:05.554 far way to go. 00:39:25.870 --> 00:39:34.405 People time in life. People take time in life. People take time in life. You got far way to 00:39:34.405 --> 00:39:43.680 go. People take time in life. People take time in life. People take time in life. You got far 00:39:43.680 --> 00:39:47.282 way to go. 00:39:57.454 --> 00:40:03.248 Fox and Branch, the title track from their release called Take Time in Life. We've got 00:40:03.248 --> 00:40:12.444 a lot of information and links posted at ChildrensHour.org. Look for this episode, Kid Pan Alley. We've 00:40:12.444 --> 00:40:20.018 got more with our guests coming up. Stick with us. You're listening to The Children's Hour 00:40:20.018 --> 00:40:26.106 Kids Public Radio. We'll be right back. The Children's Hour is making weekly learning guides 00:40:26.106 --> 00:40:32.170 for every episode thanks to the support of the Albuquerque Community Foundation. You can 00:40:32.170 --> 00:40:38.203 support this effort too. Go to childrenshour.org and click donate and find our learning guides 00:40:38.203 --> 00:40:44.097 under our podcast menu. Support for The Children's Hour provided by New Mexico Arts, a division 00:40:44.097 --> 00:40:49.070 of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and by the National Endowment for the Arts. 00:40:49.590 --> 00:40:55.000 Support for The Children's Hour provided by the City of Albuquerque Cultural Services Department 00:40:55.000 --> 00:41:05.647 and the Urban Enhancement Trust Fund. One two three four i wonder who's out side my 00:41:05.647 --> 00:41:14.150 door one two three four i wonder who's out side my door let's count and do some rhythms 00:41:14.210 --> 00:41:19.958 you'll be doing this slapping your thighs and then clapping your hands all right let's try 00:41:19.958 --> 00:41:30.194 it one two three four i wonder who's out side my door again one two three four uh 00:41:30.990 --> 00:41:38.770 my door. Okay rest a bit. This time count and slap your thighs and beat your chest. 00:41:42.318 --> 00:41:53.998 1, 2, 3, 4 I wonder who's outside my door 1, 2, 3, 4 I wonder who's outside my door again 00:41:53.998 --> 00:42:04.258 1, 2, 3, I wonder who's outside my door. Okay. Try counting and slapping your thighs and tapping 00:42:04.258 --> 00:42:13.439 your knees so you'll be going forward. Alright? 1, 2, 3, 4 I wonder who's out side my door 00:42:13.439 --> 00:42:23.387 one two three four i wonder who's out side my door again one two three four i wonder 00:42:23.387 --> 00:42:32.946 who's out side my door one two three four i wonder who's out side my door. Now let's 00:42:32.946 --> 00:42:38.670 whisper our counts and just snap our fingers as we whisper but have a whispering tone like 00:42:38.670 --> 00:42:41.978 this one two Let's try. 00:42:53.918 --> 00:42:54.638 Again. 00:43:00.058 --> 00:43:01.778 Uh huh. 00:43:07.682 --> 00:43:13.935 That's the one and only Ella Jenkins from a release released long ago, Growing Up With 00:43:13.935 --> 00:43:20.678 Ella Jenkins, Rhythms, Songs, and Rhymes. You're listening to The Children's Hour. I'm 00:43:20.678 --> 00:43:28.682 Katie Stone. With us today on the show is Cheryl and Paul Reisler from Kid Pan Alley. And the 00:43:28.682 --> 00:43:35.473 kids have some questions for you. What inspired you to start making music? Well, I mean, I've 00:43:35.473 --> 00:43:40.206 been making music my whole life. I started writing songs when I was about five years old, but 00:43:40.746 --> 00:43:46.190 I had a pretty long career as a musician. I started a band called Trapezoid when I was 00:43:46.190 --> 00:43:52.274 25, and that lasted for over 20 years. And we toured all over the world and made lots of 00:43:52.274 --> 00:43:58.268 records. And Cheryl and I live in a very small rural community in Virginia. One of our good 00:43:58.268 --> 00:44:04.208 friends was organizing an interdisciplinary residency at our local elementary school. We 00:44:04.208 --> 00:44:08.801 only have one elementary school in the county. And she asked me if I do music with the kids. 00:44:08.801 --> 00:44:14.924 And I thought, well, I don't want to be teaching them some song. I like creating stuff, not 00:44:14.924 --> 00:44:20.667 recreating it. And I said, well, I'll do it if I can write songs with them. Let's see 00:44:20.667 --> 00:44:26.010 how that goes. And so that's what we did. And the first day I went in there, I had all these 00:44:26.010 --> 00:44:31.503 plans. And in the first five minutes, I threw away all my plans and we wrote five songs the 00:44:31.503 --> 00:44:39.246 first day. It just kind of went from there. We wrote 60 songs in three weeks there and 00:44:39.246 --> 00:44:44.246 everyone wanted copies of the songs. And I got this idea to get all the different musicians 00:44:44.246 --> 00:44:49.226 in our community together and make a record of those songs. We recorded about 19 of those 00:44:49.226 --> 00:44:55.286 songs. That album came out and then the conductor of the Nashville Chamber Orchestra heard it 00:44:55.286 --> 00:45:00.486 and decided they wanted to do an album with us. And so we went to Nashville and we wrote 00:45:00.486 --> 00:45:06.675 about 60 songs in Nashville. and we recorded them with orchestra and a lot of very famous 00:45:06.675 --> 00:45:12.770 artists like Amy Grant and Delbert McClinton, Kix Brooks of Brooks and Dunn. So we had all 00:45:12.770 --> 00:45:19.025 these great singers singing songs we with kids just like you guys. And that album did pretty 00:45:19.025 --> 00:45:24.279 well. We got a Grammy nomination for one of the songs and that sort of put us on the map. 00:45:24.279 --> 00:45:29.604 And so we've been going nonstop writing songs. I'm writing songs pretty much every day with 00:45:29.604 --> 00:45:34.887 kids during the week. We're in schools all over the country and we're having a blast because 00:45:34.887 --> 00:45:40.600 kids are so much fun to write songs with. What are some of your favorite things to write songs 00:45:40.600 --> 00:45:47.084 about? I seem to like to write songs about lots of different things. I don't like to repeat 00:45:47.084 --> 00:45:53.307 myself so much. And one of the things I love to do is do things that I learn by every song. 00:45:53.307 --> 00:45:59.121 I learn something in every song. So if we're writing about different things, whatever we're 00:45:59.121 --> 00:46:02.902 writing about that day is my favorite thing in the moment. And actually, that's part of 00:46:02.902 --> 00:46:07.524 being a good songwriter is being in the moment and listening to what's going on in the room 00:46:07.524 --> 00:46:12.685 and getting excited about it. And I like to write different things. You know, I've written 00:46:12.685 --> 00:46:18.897 a full length piece for orchestra and narrator. I've written two musicals with some of 00:46:18.897 --> 00:46:24.318 the songs or Kid Pan Alley songs. So all these things are ways you learn. You learn to tell 00:46:24.318 --> 00:46:29.190 stories through music. And so that's the great thing about a musical. You're telling a story 00:46:29.730 --> 00:46:34.403 in music. We only have a little bit of time left with Kid Pan Alley today on The Children's 00:46:34.403 --> 00:46:40.425 Hour. And I just wanted to know if you wanted to leave kids in our audience with a parting 00:46:40.465 --> 00:46:45.926 thought about the work you do and what really you want kids to know, what would that be? 00:46:45.926 --> 00:46:52.308 I think that our mission is to inspire kids to be creators of their own culture and to 00:46:52.308 --> 00:47:00.000 reinvigorate creativity as a core value. And what we want them to know is that they can be creative. 00:47:00.760 --> 00:47:04.872 They don't have to be employed by one of the three major record companies to write a song. 00:47:04.872 --> 00:47:10.615 Kids can write songs that are every bit as good. So we want you to know it's not even 00:47:10.615 --> 00:47:15.818 writing songs, it's the creative process. No matter what you're doing, is to approach it 00:47:15.818 --> 00:47:22.241 creatively, to really be there and listen for what it's telling you and to shape it 00:47:22.262 --> 00:47:27.534 and give it, create your own culture instead of buying your own culture or buying someone 00:47:27.534 --> 00:47:32.995 else's culture. And that's what we want you to know. We want you to remember, you can 00:47:32.995 --> 00:47:37.988 do it. I think what I would want each of you, especially those of you with us today to know 00:47:37.988 --> 00:47:44.772 is your voice is important and how you feel and how you think has a place. And whether 00:47:44.772 --> 00:47:51.065 it's in a song or a picture, a poem, or just even your smile, just know how important you 00:47:51.065 --> 00:47:56.308 are and what a great difference you make in this world. That's Cheryl Reisler and Paul 00:47:56.308 --> 00:48:01.441 Reisler and you can find out a whole lot more about them. We've been playing music all day 00:48:01.441 --> 00:48:07.224 today on The Children's Hour from Kid Pan Alley. Lots of releases are available. These songs 00:48:07.224 --> 00:48:13.548 were written in collaboration with more than 70,000 children over the years. A pretty amazing 00:48:13.548 --> 00:48:18.811 accomplishment. Thank you so much for being with us on The Children's Hour. Oh, well, 00:48:18.811 --> 00:48:19.602 thank you. 00:48:25.934 --> 00:48:38.380 Heroes can fly and others don't need to. Some can stretch from here to there and others 00:48:38.380 --> 00:48:41.874 lead the way to somewhere. 00:48:45.486 --> 00:48:57.234 What they dream and what they do inspires us all to see it through. Stand up and be heard. 00:48:59.598 --> 00:49:10.505 and change the world. Stand up and be. This song can change the world 00:49:22.862 --> 00:49:37.644 cousin. Cassie help me when I Rosa Parks and Dr. King, they help us believe in something. 00:49:41.710 --> 00:49:51.474 Some don't think like others do It takes courage to do something new. Stand up 00:49:56.051 --> 00:50:00.626 you 00:50:04.654 --> 00:50:05.074 you 00:50:14.126 --> 00:50:14.834 you. 00:50:21.630 --> 00:50:23.211 Song can shake 00:51:13.646 --> 00:51:20.942 wanna a dancer, a superhero. So many things that I wanna be. When I grow up. 00:51:38.382 --> 00:51:39.059 I 00:51:52.998 --> 00:52:00.690 be a doctor or a scientist so many things that i wanna be when i. 00:52:43.926 --> 00:52:44.882 I need to go to school. 00:53:45.358 --> 00:53:51.341 That's Nathalia from Cuando Era Pequena and you're listening to The Children's Hour, I'm Katie Stone we're 00:53:51.341 --> 00:53:55.933 almost out of time we really enjoyed our time with Kid Pan Alley. We've got a learning guide 00:53:55.933 --> 00:54:02.836 with this episode pictures and links at childrenshour.org look for Kid Pan Alley we're gonna go out with 00:54:02.836 --> 00:54:08.949 one last song from Kid Pan Alley's Title Wave of Song this is chocolate states of America 00:54:08.949 --> 00:54:10.290 we'll catch you next time. 00:54:42.954 --> 00:54:53.560 There chocolate frost hopping Eating M&M's they were always talking. There was chocolate 00:54:53.560 --> 00:55:05.416 fungus and cow. And gooey melted. Hershey mugs I chocolate eyeballs, cow tails, 00:55:05.416 --> 00:55:15.856 lollipops I ate chocolate. Easter buddies and robots. And I broke out in a case of chocolate. 00:55:15.856 --> 00:55:21.586 I've eaten only in the chocolate states of America. 00:55:36.974 --> 00:55:43.093 PlayStation 2, play on my chocolate vacation on a chocolate beach and a. Hershey's seat. 00:55:43.093 --> 00:55:48.080 Walking in the heat, so much chocolate sand underneath my feet, dancing around to a chocolate 00:55:48.080 --> 00:55:52.586 band and there's just more chocolate and more chocolate and I even got a chocolate hand I 00:55:52.586 --> 00:55:59.566 lick when it's hot. it drips on my pants it leaves a spot I chocolate eyeballs, cow tails, 00:55:59.566 --> 00:56:09.786 lollipops I ate chocolate Easter bunnies and robots. Then I broke out in a case of chocolate 00:56:09.786 --> 00:56:20.746 poison ivy. But only in chocolate states of America I ate chocolate eyeballs, cow tails, lollipops 00:56:21.294 --> 00:56:28.194 they put on my plate chocolate turkey, chocolate eyeballs. They had chocolate frogs. They had 00:56:28.194 --> 00:56:33.994 chocolate chairs and chocolate wheels. They had chocolate men of steel. And none were too 00:56:33.994 --> 00:56:42.834 big. I ate it all. In the chocolate states of America. All your wants, all your chocolate 00:56:42.834 --> 00:56:49.034 needs. Chocolate is tea. And you never get tired of it. 00:56:52.275 --> 00:56:57.618 or your teeth or make up your bed in the chocolate shapes of America 00:57:58.488 --> 00:58:04.021 The Children's Hour is produced by The Children's Hour Incorporated, a New Mexico nonprofit. 00:58:04.041 --> 00:58:10.665 You can find photos, playlists, learning guides, and activities for every episode at ChildrensHour.org. 00:58:10.765 --> 00:58:15.587 This episode of The Children’s Hour was written and produced by me, Katie Stone, with production 00:58:15.587 --> 00:58:22.411 help from Christina Stella, Sarah Gabrielli, McKenzie Graunke, and Thaniel Lentz. Amber 00:58:22.411 --> 00:58:28.919 Shiel writes our learning guides. You can find this one at ChildrensHour.org. Look for Kid Pan 00:58:28.919 --> 00:58:34.902 Alley. Find our podcast wherever you listen to podcasts or go to our patreon.com slash 00:58:34.902 --> 00:58:41.526 The Children's Hour or ask your smart speaker to play The Children's Hour podcast. Our theme 00:58:41.526 --> 00:58:48.309 music was written by C.K. Barlow. The Children's Hour is distributed by Native Voice One, the 00:58:48.309 --> 00:58:56.184 Native American radio network. Thanks for listening to The Children's Hour, Kids Public Radio. © 2026 The Children’s Hour Inc. All Rights Reserved.