Spending the night singing

[jbailey]

I assume that I was sung songs when I was little, but I don't really remember them. I do remember my mom singing "You are my sunshine" to me (but only the chorus, as she thought the first verse was too sad. I'm glad that she never heard the remaining creepy stalker verses from the O Brother soundtrack). Angie will sing lullabies that she remembers, but she's the oldest of three kids, whereas I'm the youngest of two by five years.

So all this to explain why at 4am I was singing Leif to sleep with songs from The Dances of Universal Peace. Walking in circles singing them reminded me that I haven't been to the dances in a while. They're on the second Tuesday of the month here in Montréal.

Comments

[mmmmtino.livejournal.com]

My parents sang to me a lot as a child. Dad's perennial favorite was "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." He liked to change the animals (Rudolph the Red-Beaked Pelican was a favorite). Don't ask me why. "You Are My Sunshine" was mom's song. She didn't care that the verse was sad!

Each of my relatives had their own song, too (Aunt Vicki would sing "Honeypie, you are driving me crazy," and Grandma would sing a song about little fishies).

The lullaby I remember the best was one my mom and grandfather (who is from France) sang to me--it works in both French and English:

Il etait un petit navire
Il etait un petit navire
Il etait un petit navire
Qui n'a jamais navige

There once was a little sailboat
There once was a little sailboat
There once was a little sailboat
That never never never sailed away

Wish I could sing it to you over the web....

I'm so glad you're singing Dances of Universal Peace songs to Leif. What a gift.

in peace,
m