Sunday Singalong - On a Sunday! Who'd-a thought?

 Yes, it has been awhile.

But I have an excuse.

So, on Sept. 18 I had my knee replaced. Now, that was 58 years after the initial injury! I looked it up in my mother's diaries (another time I am thankful for that reference material) and discovered that, while I was incorrect in the diagnosis "I heard" from the doctor so long ago, I was correct in the basic injury. And I'm surprised that the problem didn't surface in this manner until 5+ decades later. The human body, and, more specifically, mine, never ceases to amaze me! 

That brings to mind, no surprise, I know, a song! Of course, the one most of us learned as children, about the bones all connecting, is the first to pop into my heard, largely because when the knee started to really cause me trouble, other body parts started to be affected (most logically, the knee and hip of my right, the non-injured, leg . . . it was taking on additional responsibility since I couldn't really put weight on the left leg). So I looked it up. I'd forgotten the filler, I mean, the entire inspiration for the song (Ezekial's proclamation about the resurrection and the bones becoming "alive" again, conjuring up images of dancing skeletons - appropos for this time of year, being just 3 days from Hallowe'en). So, do you remember the song (beyond the skeletal connections)? check it out!

Wikipedia, "Dem Bones,"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dem_Bones

Want to hear it? So many versions to come up with! Let's check out this one, by one of my most favorite groups: Alvin & the Chipmunks!

OK, that's what might be called "sanitized," though that's not exactly what one might think of when considering dancing skepetons. Let's look at the "original" version (not by author, but not PC version, for sure, thought it might give some readers a sort of flash back): Delta Rhythm Boys on the Ed Sullivan Show 9 November 1952 (soon after Hallowe'en?). OK, we wouldn't be able to find that on TV done in 2021, but it may take us to some memories (not all great, probably). And that link will take you to others. Such as this one by Cathedrals Quartet, singing it as "Dry Bones." I love those harmonies. It was posted in 2008 and the quality tells me it was not all that old at the time (they gave their last public performance in 1999), so it's more recent and closest to the original for that version. And it gave me a new appreciation for an old song. Not a bad thing to take my mind off of my knee bone (including the one made of titanium).

Happy Hallowe'en!

Sunday Singalong - Wasting Away?

 

Another weekend has come upon us and I'm feeling rather maudlin. I started the day learning about Jimmy Buffet's passing and then had to take my dog, Klondike (16 years old last June) to be put down. He was a fighter and though I thought the time would have come many years ago (his breed is not known for especially long lives, plus he had some congenital issues that made for difficult times) and he had some "False endings" (opposite of "False starts"?) over the last 10 months or so. But he kept coming back to give it one more try. That last try was Friday night so on Saturday morning, what would have been Butch's 85th birthday, had he hung in for another round, on 2 September, I said goodbye to the little old fuzzy baby and handed him over to folks who were going to give him a much-earned rest.

I am not meaning to say that any of the creatures just mentioned were wasting away on any level, but I've been listening to "Margaritaville" pretty much all day and that one line keeps going around and around. It's a fun song to sing, but the lyrics are very poignant and speak to situations where a passive giving up is suggested. So, lest I be thought of as one who is "wasting away," I will counter that with a non-waste-away song selection. Now to think of one.

How about a song about the virtues of Life? Written in 1975, this is a recording of Tom Paxton, singing his composition "Life" from a 1978 live recording. It's not my favorite version, but it still packs punch.

Your turn: any songs that can remind us of the many good things there are to live for? We need to sing those loud and long!

Jean Hibben, Tom Paxton

Good times - no wasting!

2015, Napa, California

 

Sunday Singalong - Playing Music on the Porch Day

 

That day was yesterday. My body demanded that I not try to sing - on the porch or elsewhere - the voice is going through some nasty adjustments (and I don't adjust well). But my heart was out there singing, and there was much more room for that out there than my actual body trying to find a place to sit.

I recall many porches, and many singalongs, as well as solo performances, and have always enjoyed that ambiance, as long as the bug population is at a minimum and it doesn't get too cold to play an instrument (Butch's saw told him when to stop long before he or I wanted to - saws don't bend well in the cold).

I am reminded of a song that includes a verse about family singing together and I share it here. Hope that whether your singing is taking place on a porch or elsewhere, that your enjoyment of the experience provides you with lasting memories . . . I cherish ones that I have and look forward to sharing another with y'all next week.

"Music in my Mother's House" - by Stuart Stotts, (c) 1985, performed by Ronnie Gilbert on her 1989 recording.

Univ. of Calif. Press