The GRAMMY Award-winning Okee Dokee Brothers are known for their playful music and thoughtful lyrics. Their third album, Saddle Up: A Western Adventure Album, will be released May 13th. It is a delightful collection of songs with a message that is both timely and timeless.
One of the biggest benefits of learning another language is understanding that we share common experiences, regardless of the language we use. That is the message of the song Somos Amigos from the new Okee Dokee Brothers album. The song is a collaboration with New Mexico-based Carlos Medina and his group El Trío Los Gallos.
Somos amigos is a wonderful song and video to share with Spanish learners. These are a few of the features I like:
- The message of the song is that although we express ourselves in different ways, the human experience unites us.
- One of the Okee Dokee Brothers stumbles over his Spanish as he introduces the group El Trio Los Gallos. Kids will understand and laugh at the vocabulary mix-up, and also see that it doesn’t discourage him a bit.
- The members of El Trío Los Gallos give information about their instruments, including the vihuela, acordeón and guitarrón.
- The song is in both English and Spanish, with the languages blocked by verse.
- I like the vocabulary and examples the song uses to communicate its message. They don’t shy away from bandera and frontera, but rather acknowledge that the bond between us does not depend on either one.
- The song is catchy, fun to sing and sure to please kids.
The rest of the songs on Saddle Up: A Western Adventure Album are in English, but several reinforce the message of Somos Amigos. In particular, I love the song The Great Divide. It is a clever take on perspective that will intrigue kids and help them understand that there are indeed two sides to everything.
Saddle Up: A Western Adventure Album will be released on May 13 as a digital download and a CD and DVD set. The DVD documentary features educational material and music videos. It was filmed on a 30-day horseback journey along the Continental Divide.
The song Somos Amigos and the album Saddle Up: A Western Adventure Album are available from Amazon.
Disclosure: The company sent me a copy of this product to be able to write the article. I may have been compensated for my time. All of the ideas and opinions are my own.
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