Song Video
Lyrics
(Leader)
We're going on a bear hunt!
(Group)
We're going on a bear hunt!
We're gonna catch a big one!
We're gonna catch a big one!
I'm not afraid!
I'm not afraid!
Are you?
Are you?
Not me!
Not me!.
Here comes the gate
(Group Echos)
Now we're on a bear hunt
We're gonna catch a big one
I'm not afraid
Are you?Not me!
We're coming to a tall mountain
It sure is high
It sure is wide
Let's climb up it
Well, there's nothing over there
Nothing over there
Nothing back there
Hey! Wait! I think I see something
Quick! Everybody run down!
We're going on a bear hunt!
We're going on a bear hunt!
We're gonna catch a big one!
We're gonna catch a big one!
I'm not afraid!
I'm not afraid!
Are you?
Are you?
Not me!
Not me!.
We're going thru the tall grass
We're going thru the short grass
Hey! Look! There's a little tree
Well, let's shinny on up it
Whoa! It gets a little skinny up here at the top
See anything over that way?
Anything over that way?, Uh, oh!,
Oh, no! Whoa! Agh! let's get down!
We're going on a bear hunt!
We're going on a bear hunt!
We're gonna catch a big one!
We're gonna catch a big one!
I'm not afraid!
I'm not afraid!
Are you?
Are you?
Not me!
Not me!.
Oh, no!
It's a big puddle of mud
Can't go around it
Gotta go right thru it
Yeuk!
Well, let's go.
Squish, Sqwish, Blaaahh.
We're going on a bear hunt!
We're going on a bear hunt!
We're gonna catch a big one!
We're gonna catch a big one!
I'm not afraid!
I'm not afraid!
Are you?
Are you?
Not me!
Not me!.
We're coming to a wide river
And there's no bridge going over it
No tunnel going under it
It's just plain old water
And we're gonna have to swim
All right, dive in!
Start swimming
Do the back stroke
Do the side stroke
Do the doggie paddle
Try the little cat paddle
OK Jump out, shake yourself off.
We're going on a bear hunt!
We're going on a bear hunt!
We're gonna catch a big one!
We're gonna catch a big one!
I'm not afraid!
I'm not afraid!
Are you?
Are you?
Not me!
Not me!.
Shhh, it's a cave
Looks like the kind of cave that B-bears live in
I don't know if I want to go in there
You think we oughta go in?
Are you nuts?
There's probably a bear in there
All right I'll go in, You stay here,
And if I find a bear, I'll come out and get you
And we'll all go in and grab him together
Now, quiet, don't make a sound while I'm in that cave,
Cuz if you wake him up, I'll be in trouble
Bears are awful ornery when they first wake up, you know
OK, I'm going on in
Oooo, It's dark in here
It's really dark in here
I can't see a thing
Agh, there's spiders webs
Ooo, what was that???
What's this??. . it's soft, uh oh,it's kind of fuzzy.
Ahg! Run! Everybody run!
I saw a bear!
Jump in the water! Swim fast!
Do the backstroke!
The sidestroke, the doggie paddle
Jump out of the water
Run through the mud!
Forget the tree!
Go through the tall grass
The short grass
Quick! Go up the mountain
Down the other side
Go thru the gate
Into the house, under the bed
Under the pillow
Hide!
Uh, it's awful quiet around here
I'm not afraid
I'm not afraid
Are you?
Are you?.
Information About The Bear Hunt
"The Bear Hunt" or "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" first became popular as a camp song in the 1950s. In 1997, Michael Rosen and illustrator, Helen Oxenbury, made into a fun, enchanting and very popular picture book.
Though the exact origin of "The Bear Hunt" song is unclear, many Native American cultures have songs and myths about bears. Bear dances are performed often before following bears into the woods, hopefully helping them to hibernate.
An excellent lesson plan based on "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" complete with printable activities can be found here: http://www.squidoo.com/going-on-a-bear-hunt.
'The Bear Echo Song' and 'Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar' are also great chant songs with engaging rhythms that involve the children.
"Oh Look" by Patricia Palacco is another book in which a trio of goats goes on an adventure similar to the family in the Rosen and Oxenbury story. Though the rhythm of the book is not as easy, the illustrations and the goats' adventure make it worth checking out.
Alternative Lyrics & Related Songs
This version will let you meet the bear earlier
Going on a bear hunt
Going on a bear hunt.
Do you see a bear, I don't see a bear.
Walking into the woods.
Do you see a bear, I don't see a bear.
Getting in a canoe
Paddling across the river
Getting out of the canoe.
Do you see a bear? I don't see a bear.
Climbing up a tree.
Do you see a bear? I don't see a bear.
Climbing down the tree.
Walking along.
A BEAR (Slap your hands on your thighs as a sign of running away.)