It’s Time to Stay Wide Awake
Subject
singing the night away
Year Composed
1994
Year Copyrighted
2011
Voicing
Unison
Musical Form
- Verse 1
- Verse 2
- Verse 3
- Coda
Song Details
After a deceptive, lullaby-like piano introduction, a jaunty song ensues about staying awake to sing a song that seems to have no end. With each successive verse, the endings grow a bit longer, until the singer tires and the coda arrives with the dawn. To the listener, this song should swing along effortlessly, but articulating the text with the syncopated rhythms will present a fun challenge for the chorus.
Performance options
consider some simple choralography to suggest falling asleep as each verse concludes, then waking up to sing the next verse; think creatively about how to interpret the ending with movement
Suggested uses
- intermediate and upper grade elementary choruses
- to practice singing in swing rhythm