COMPLETE LYRICS

Up above the streets and houses, rainbow climbing high,
Everyone can see it smiling over the sky.
Paint the whole world with a rainbow.

All along the streams and rivers, shining in the lakes,
See the colours of the rainbow as the morning breaks.
Paint the whole world with a rainbow.

Red, the colour of a sunrise, white clouds floating in a sky of blue,
Green for the rivers, Gold for the cornfields, the day is shining new.

Red, the colour of a sunset, grey shadows creep across the hills,
The sun is sinking, colours are fading, the fields are dark and still.

Take some green from a forest, blue from the sea,
Find the misty pot of gold, and mix them for a week.
Paint the whole world with a rainbow.

Red, the colour of a sunrise white clouds floating in a sky of blue,
Green for the rivers, gold for the cornfields, the day is shining new.

This was a series of various programmes created for children under five, especially the majority who received little pre-school education. Each programme was based on a different theme to which each item is related.

"Each day the children's favourite characters-Bungle the bear, Zippy, Sunshine and Moony among others-are there to present their contribution to that theme. And each day a number of songs, which also tie in with the programme's theme, are included in the show. All the songs on this album have been performed on Rainbow by Telltale, a group of young musicians whose regular appearance has provided an added flavour to the varying theme. Fourteen songs, written specially for Rainbow, are featured here, played and sung by the group which created them. The idea for Telltale began while Tim Thomas and Hugh Portnow were working with the Freehold Theatre Company. Tim moved on in 1970 to concentrate on forming a group of first class musicians and actors, and Hugh joined him a year later. With the arrival on thc scene of Hugh Fraser, Chris Ashley and Fluff Joinson, Telltale was fast becoming a reality, and it became complete with the addition of Ted Richards. The combination of six actors and a dozen musical instruments, with a liberal sprinkling of musical talent and writing ability, provides the perfect working basis for this multi-talented group. For a group which was only formed in the summer of 1972, Telltale has come a long way in a very short time." 

- Notes on Rainbow from 1973.