The poem is by David McCord; Music by Mark Weltner. I adapted his poem slightly so that I could put it to music.
Every time I climb a tree I scrape a leg or skin a knee
And every time I climb a tree I find some ants or dodge a bee,
And get the ants all over me. Every time I climb a tree.
And every time I climb a tree, “Where have you been?” they say to me.
But don’t they know that I am free every time I climb a tree?
I like it best to spot a nest that has an egg or maybe three,
And then I skin the other leg, but every time I climb a tree
I see a lot of things to see:
Swallows, rooftops, and TV, and all the fields and farms there be
Every time I climb a tree, every time I climb a tree.
Though climbing may be good
for ants, it isn’t awfully good for pants,
But still it’s pretty good for me, every time I climb a tree
Every time I climb a tree.