American Folk Song · Longways Set · Grades K–2
Willowbee lyrics, the longways set game, and a complete teaching guide for Kindergarten through 2nd grade. Re solfège, fast/slow contrast, steady beat. Teach the song and play the game in the same class — one of the quickest games to get K–2 students up and moving.
Full lyrics · both verses
Two verses, two contrasting feels. The first is slow and legato; the second is fast and bouncy. That contrast is the musical teaching point — students feel it before you name it.
About this song
Willowbee is a quick way to get K–2 students up and moving in a game that's simple and manageable. Unlike games with more complicated songs or mechanics, you can teach the song and immediately play the game in the same class period. That makes it ideal for early in the year when students are still getting used to your class — and equally useful right before a vacation when the kids are mentally already out the door.
The two verses create a natural fast/slow contrast. Verse 1 is slow and legato — "this way we Willowbee" has a gentle, flowing quality. Verse 2 is fast and bouncy — "dancing down the alley" picks up energy immediately. Students feel this contrast in their bodies during the game before you ever name it as a musical concept.
"You can teach the song and immediately play the game, unlike games with more complicated songs. It's great to try early in the year when the kids are still getting used to your class, or before a vacation when the kids are mentally already out the door."
— Deborah Skydell Pasternack, The Singing ClassroomRe solfège: The song is entirely pentatonic except for one mi-re-do pattern — an ideal context for introducing re. Students are singing it in a natural, musical phrase before you point to it, and the pentatonic surroundings make the arrival of re audible by contrast.
Steady beat: Children clap the beat as the head couple moves down the set — the physical motion of the game anchors the pulse throughout.
Common questions
Verse 1: "This way we Willowbee, Willowbee, Willowbee / This way we Willowbee, all day long." Verse 2: "Dancing down the alley, alley, alley / Dancing down the alley, all day long." The first verse is slow and legato; the second is fast and bouncy. The name is sometimes spelled "Willowby" or "Willoughby" — Willoughby is an English name, though the song's origin isn't precisely documented.
Willowbee works well for Kindergarten, 1st grade, and early 2nd grade. The simple song and straightforward longways set mechanics make it accessible to the youngest students and ideal for early in the school year. It's also a good choice right before school vacations when students need movement and the game can be run quickly without a lot of setup.
Willowbee is almost entirely pentatonic — except for one mi-re-do pattern. That isolation makes re easy to find and point to. Students are already singing re in context before you identify it, which means the recognition moment ("that's the note we've been singing!") is more effective than introducing it cold. The surrounding pentatonic pitches also make re's sound distinctive by contrast.
The two verses have distinctly different feels — Verse 1 is slow and legato, Verse 2 is fast and bouncy. During the longways set game, students move differently in each section, which means they feel the contrast physically before you name it. After the game, asking "did those two sections feel different? How?" leads directly to the vocabulary of fast and slow, legato and staccato.
More longways set games & early-year songs
Another longways set — sashay, swing arms, peel the banana. More complex than Willowbee, good next step.
See teaching guide →Three-verse longways set with tiri-tiri, ri-tim, and tiri-ti. Same age range, more rhythmic content.
See teaching guide →Also features re solfège via mi-re-do. Skipping to the phrase, swing time. Natural companion to Willowbee.
See teaching guide →The real problem
Every teacher knows this feeling. You find a song, try it on Monday, and something goes sideways — the kids don't engage, you're not sure how to introduce it, the lesson loses momentum. It's not that the song was wrong. You just didn't have a clear picture of how it actually goes.
That's what makes The Singing Classroom different. Every song in the library — including this one — has a full video of Deborah teaching it with real students. You don't have to guess how to introduce it, how to structure the activity, or how to handle the tricky moments. You watch it. Then you teach it.
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