Rhinoceros Rumba is just a fun song for children to sing. I composed it in Brisbane for some year 1 classes who were learning different letters of the alphabet over a particular term. I composed quite a few alliterative songs at the time, including the ever-popular Zebra Zig-Zag.
Rhinoceros Rumba has been popular with older youngsters too. They like to make up actions or a dance to go with the words. This video can be used as a learning or singalong video.

Floss was a rhinoceros
Who lost her temper because
In the course of a rumba
An elephant bumped her
That’s when she became very cross
So she squashed him
By sitting on his nose,
and then she charged him,
He saw her horn and froze,
and then he fainted
and lay there comatose,
so then she stopped,
and the elephant arose.
By way of an apology
He bowed with fervent energy
And then he gave her a red rose.

The two of them tried a foxtrot
And others said they were hot
But in spite of the plaudits
It wasn’t their favourite:
They fancied the rumba a lot.
So they practised
For hours and hours until
They were contented
With their dancing steps and skills.
They made some costumes
With sequins and silk frills
And then performed
And their audience was thrilled.
They responded by indulging in
A rumba-dancing holiday in
Paraguay and Brazil.

Rhinoceros Rumba is one of my “Song of Action” for primary school classes. I’ve composed lots of them. Here are twelve of the best:

Twelve Of The Best: Songs of Action