The Other Day I Met a Bear

The traditional lyrics are:

This is a Repeat After Me song!

The other day
I met a bear
Out in the woods
Oh way out there

He looked at me
I looked at him
He sized up me
I sized up him

He said to me
Why don't you run
I see you ain't
Got any gun

I said to him
That's a good idea
So come on feet
Away from here

And so I ran
Away from there
But right behind
Me was that bear

And then I see
Ahead of me
A great big tree
Oh, glory be!

The lowest branch
Was ten feet up
I'd have to jump
And trust my luck!

And so I jumped
Into the air
But I missed that branch
A way up there

Now don't you fret
Now don't you frown
'Cause I caught that branch
On the way back down

This is the end
There ain't no more
Until I meet
That bear once more[1]

Some versions also include the following lines after the last stanza:

And so I met
That bear once more,
Now he’s a rug
On my bedroom floor.

The "Bear in Tennis Shoes" version starts with the following lines:

The other day,
I met a bear,
In tennis shoes,
A dandy pair.

This version ends with:

The moral of,
This story is,
Don't talk to bears,
In tennis shoes.[2]

"The Other Day I Met a Bear" is one of the songs sung by Barney the dinosaur on the 1990 children's video Campfire Sing-along except it was shortened to 4 stanzas instead of 10. On Barney & Friends, the tune was used for The Exercise Song. The 2007 album For the Kids Three! includes a version of the song by Barenaked Ladies.[3]

In Japanese, the song is known as "Mori no Kuma-san" (森のくまさん or 森の熊さん), with lyrics written by Yoshihiro Baba. It is on the soundtrack to the film version of Ranma ½ (1989) and an instrumental version is used frequently in the Family Stadium video game series.

• Lyrics from NIEHS, National Institute of Health.