Has anyone noticed a relationship between my becoming a grandfather and my becoming a less frequent blogger?
Right now sweet Reese and her parents (notice the status you get when you give birth to the first grandchild: you are “her parents”) are living with us while Matt does his family practice rotation.
Yesterday was one of the great days of my life. Several reasons. But among them was a couple early morning hours with her. I was leaving very early to go work out when Diane said, “You’re about to miss one of the best parts of the day with her.” So I forgot about working out! Then yesterday she went with me to ACU campus to watch croquet. Yes, you read that right: croquet. A grudge match between the psychology and English departments.
I’d like to read The Hobbit to her today. But seriously, five weeks old is probably too young.
Pepperdine was wonderful. I soaked in every ounce of beauty I could. This was the eighth year of my class with Zoe. What a joy to be with them again.
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Recently on Austin City Limits I heard John Fogerty sing a song that my dad sang to me when I was young. Brought back really powerful memories. “When I was a little bitty baby my momma used to rock-a me in the cradle . . . .”
What songs do you remember being sung to you? And . . . what songs did you sing to your own children?
We sing “You Are My Sunshine” to our kids - that’s the standard every night. Sometimes I also throw in the old Barney great “I Love You. You Love Me.” Then there’s also “Jesus Loves Me”, “Think of Me Everyday” (from VeggieTales) and other various Holiday-themed songs, sung in-season. My oldest is 8 & he still wants me to sing to him every night. (I love that!!!)
Welcome home Mike! Reese has captivated your home and blogging world. Until told otherwise I’m betting the English Dept. beat down the Psych. group - hopefully there were no Steve Nash busted nose-type incidents. No songs sung to or from to report - I just keep picturing a big purpose Dinosaur - I’ve blotted out much that went with that.
Not enough space for all of the songs my parents sang to me…they had songs for every occasion.:)
I will just highlight some of the songs they would sing when I cried. My dad sang a refrain that went like this “poor little Rhode Island , least of the 48″ which he then changed to “poor little Rhode Island , least of the 50 states” when I was four years old(and still crying). He also sang “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” to me. I love Willie Nelson’s version which reminds me of my dad’s beautiful voice.
My mother sang an old Hank Williams refrain “tears falling down your pretty cheeks, tears you cannot hide and tears you cannot keep, tears of sorrow, teardrops of delight, I wish I had a nickel for every tear you cried tonight.”
When my children were small, I sang “It’s a Small World” to them.
I guess my voice isn’t as comforting as my parents. When I try to sing to my grandson he says,”don’t sing, Nana”!
Taught both my children “London Homesick Blues” by Gary P. Nunn, from the Jerry Jeff Walker album “Viva Terlingua”. Both could sing it by the time they were two. We were working on “Up Against The Wall, …”, but Mom put a stop to that.
My parents weren’t really singers. My dad read Nursery Rhymes to me all the time. I think his favorite for me was “There was a little girl with a little curl right in the middle of her forhead. When she was good she was very very good, but when she was bad she was horrid.”
My Mom could sing anything to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb. Cleaning room songs, setting the table songs, get out of her way songs were all made up but always sung to Mary Had a Little Lamb.
I don’t have children but whenever I hold a child I have to sing, “You’re a pretty little girl and God made you, God made you, God made you. You’re a pretty little girl and God made you, learn to serve him faithfully.” I do change girl to boy when gender appropriate.
My mom and I would sing all kinds of songs when I was little and in the bathtub…anyone remember “Bullfrogs and Butterflies”?
I don’t have kids yet, but when my niece and nephews were babies, I’d sing “You are My Sunshine” to them when we rocked.
Wonderful post, MIke. Dad would sing “Down in the meadow in a itty bitty pool swam 3 little fishies and a mommy fishy too, swim said the momma fishy swim if you can and they swam and they swam all over the dam.” Does anybody remember that , or did my dad just make that up? Late at night my mom would often sing “Trust and Obey. Wonderful legacy.
They’re never too young to have The Hobbit read to them. My youngest had read through the Lord of the Rings on his own by the 2nd grade. Don’t handicap Reese’s moral development by waiting too long!
We sang “made-up” songs to our two girls when they were little. I made up a song about them, very simple to a tune already known. The oldest tune was “Life on a Farm” from John Denver and the youngest “Bicycle Built for Two.” It stuck with them.
Now, my oldest has two girls and she made up a song for each of them. When the girls spend the night with us, we have to sing their songs, then mom’s song and then Aunt D’s song. But I had to learn “Stay Awake” from Mary Poppins because that is the song their mother sings last before they go to sleep.
We have always been a singing family and sing on every occasion possible. In fact, that was a requirement for me to be able to sing before my husband would date or marry me!
“Old Cotton Fields Back Home” and “In the Pines” are two songs that bring back memories of my folks singing to us. We also sang church songs. I loved listening to records by Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, and Pat Boone when I went to sleep at night. My fondest memories of being sung to at night was not by my folks, but by Josiah, our night-watchman in Nigeria. He knew I was scared lots of nights, so he would sing outside my window in Igbo. He couldn’t speak English, but he knew how to sing away my fears. I can’t wait to sing to him on the other side!
Carly Simon’s newest album is INCREDIBLE for children! She sings “Oh Susanna”, “Blackbird”, “You are my Sunshine”, “I Gave My Love to Cherry”, and “Over the Rainbow”. It is going to be one of the first gifts to my grandchildren.
DU
My grandchildren have loved “I Love You a Buschel and a Peck” and, of course, they get a squeeze with every repetition of the “and a hug around the neck”.
We bust out with 70’s and 80’s numbers and our kids think we are making up the songs. It cracks us up. Then they will be wondering around a store and hear one of the songs we “made up” and almost recoil in horror!!!!
David has the habit of waking them up with a less than stellar rendition of “oh what a beautiful morning.” None of us are typical morning types and so this goes over like a ton of bricks. Well, on Friday night while David was at Pepperdine one of our Elders and his wife came to pick up the kids and I and took us to dinner at a really nice restaurant and then to see Oklahoma. We are sitting in “donor” seats, front row, middle seats and the show begins. As Spencer (6) hears “Oh what a beautiful morning” as the opening of Oklahoma, he cracks up - I mean loudly. It was hilarious. I guess he thought we made that one up too.
Our youngest is getting ready to graduate from high school so I guess I’m feeling nostalgic today. Sherri (my wife) is more of the singer in our family but I remember singing “You are the Sunshine of my Life” and “This Little Light of Mine” to our kids. And on the sick nights when everyone was getting frustrated I would sing “The Ants Go Marching One by One” over and over and bore them to sleep!
Greg, your dad did not make up the itty bitty pool song.
I was sung to by my parents and grandparents…made up songs “Grandad loves his little darling; Grandad loves his sweetheart girl; Grandad loves his precious baby; yes he loves this little girl” (to a tune he made up) as well as popular and children’s songs like “You are my sunshine”, “Six little ducks”, “Down at the station”, “Mockingbird Hill”, but mostly religious songs…”Trust and Obey”, “Tarry with me”, “Old Rugged Cross”, etc…and we’ve continued to sing to our children and now our grandchildren.
I took my grandson over to a friend’s house yesterday…and the dad said, “Hi, sweet Mark…goo, goo,” etc…and then a few minutes later turned and spoke to me, saying, “I didn’t mean to ignore you”…but I knew who was in first place, b/c we do it all the time to our kiddos when they are around…we head for the babies first!!!
My mom was the singer in our family… “I Love You, a Bushel and a Peck,” “Babes in the Woods” (it never occurred to me as a child that it was a morbid song) were 2 I remember vividly. She also used to quote James Whitcomb Riley’s “Little Orphant Annie” to me.
When the kids were very small, I would rock them singing the B-I-N-G-O song, using the letters of their names. “Love Lifted Me” was also a good rocking song (LOL… bet that has never been described in that manner!).
I just remembered - is it bad to teach my kids the song “When you’re sliding into first & your pants begin to burst…….” ?
Also, apart from bedtime, we make up all sorts of silly songs & change the lyrics to popular songs too.
We sing all the standards. I really do think that hearing your parents sing to you is a wonderful gift. Two songs I almost always sing at bedtime are “Jesus loves me” and “Oh how I love Jesus”. I usually chain them together and begin singing them right after prayers are said. A few days ago my littlest one, Grace, who is 2.5 was playing with her dolls. I was busy cleaning and sorting clothes and I overheard her tucking in her dolls and singing, “There is a name I wuv to hear, I love to sing its worth, it sounds like music to my ears….” and then she added her own version of the chorus, “Ooh Ooh OOH HOW I LOVE JESUSSSSS” very loudly. It was a sweet moment indeed to hear a willful two year old use something with her own interpretation.
BTW, you need to get lots of Raffi and Lauri Berkner CDs. Music tames all kinds of moods in little ones and Raffi almost always made my three children stop crying and smile.
Mike, there’s a great gift book called “Poems From The Hobbit” that’s just right for reading to little ones. A great starter book for the scholar I’m sure your little darling will become (grin).
I know the itty bitty fish song too! I still teach that one to kids sometimes when we’re just being silly in the children’s ministry.
On the dummy line….on the dummy line….rain or shine I’ll pay my fine…rain or shine I’ll pay my fine….a ridin’, ridin’, ridin’ on the dummy, dummy line.
“You are my sunshine” was the song I sang to my son John. Sang it to him as a baby, little boy, tween, and now sophomore at ACU. It is “our” song and so when we see something with that in it, we send it to each other. I even get text messages on occasion from my 20 year old young man with just that message. Lumps in my throat every time. And now I am about to board a plane to Abilene to see my “sunshine” and bring him home! What a great day!
Mike, my parents couldn’t sing a lick, but since my dad owned a tv shop - he rigged our stereo cabnet to play throughout the house. Every night he would put on a stack of LP’s (remember those?) at bed time. I would go to sleep listening to - Johnny Cash, Lefty Frizzel, Merle Haggard, Charley Pride, Porter Wagner, Loretta Lynn,etc ….
Funny. When I hear any of those songs today, I can sing right along!
My dad would rock us and sing to us…”Three Little Kitties” and “General Froggie Took a Ride” are the ones I remember best. He’d also sing “A Mighty Fortress” at the top of his lungs in the shower, mixing up the first and second halves of verses (getting half of v.1 right but then plunging straight into the second half of v.2, etc.). And there were also various songs with made-up words. I don’t have kids yet, but I will definitely sing to them when I do.
Little Willy fell down the elevator
There they found him six months later;
They held their nose,
And they said, “Gee whiz,
What a spoiled child our Willy is.”
(Just continuing the note from Coping above. One of many silly songs she sang to me when I was little.)
I sang “You can’t always get what you want” to my girls while they were still in the womb. I would either sing it or put the head phones on my wifes belly. When they were babies and would cry, putting that song on would sooth them. Seriously.
Several songs my parents sang to me still bring tears to my eyes…bittersweet as they have both gone to their reward:
Love Lifted Me, This Is My Story, Jesus There’s Just Something about that Name, I’ll Sing the Wondrous Story (I used to call this song “Crystal Sea” because of the line in the refrain “…gathered by the Crystal Sea.”)
Not so spiritual and mostly sung by dad: Riders on the Storm, Bill Grogan’s Goat, and some mangled versions of hymns, mostly made up to make us laugh–he socked me and bopped me with his redeeming love, and Tenessee Ernie Jesus is calling.
My mom sang to me all the time. I love you a bushel and a peck, Tiny bubbles- only I was the tiny bubble. Also Stand Up Stand Up for Jesus. Daddy sang a little ditty about ‘Dirty Dittys in the wash” also “Terry’s mad and I’m glad and I know how to please her, always silly with different endings made to make me smile.
I sang to my kids, but I remember more about the songs to the the grandkids. R-Y-L-E-I-G-H to the tune of BINGO. She was three months old when my husband died and I hung on to her and just sang that over and over. She was the future and I had to be there to see it even if at that time I really just wanted to be with him.
The one that has enrolled at Pepperdine, Brittni, she just had grandma read “That Sam I Am’ over,and over and over everyday. She was really into those voice inflections.
Sasha liked Doe a deer a female deer, over and over doing the musical scale. Guess what- she is a great singer-soprano.
Quincy and Kamryn just loved to sit on your lap and sing or talk and cuddle.
But the one “You are my Sunshine” has been sung for 3 generations. It is like a family chorus.
Going with the theme, my dad would sing “You Are My Sunshine” to me, a bit off-tune, when I was small. I’m storing up songs to sing to my someday-babies, including “Can You Count the Stars of Evening” and the barbershop song “Tell me why the stars do shine…Tell me why the ivy twines…” I’m blessed to have married into a singing family, and we have to sing for our suppers on major holidays or Granny will be displeased. You don’t want Granny displeased.
Mike
Our girls insisted I sing “where are you going my little one, little one, little blue ( or appropriate color) eyes and sweet smille, oh where have you gone. Turn around and you’re two, turn around and you’re grown, turn around and you’re a young wife with babes of your own. I cant remeber where it came from or if it is even right, but each daughter had to have it sung to them as they lay in their bed, even though they all three shared a room. Then when grandchildren came along I sang it to them. what fun and I miss that now that we are in Zambia, so I will have to adopt some of the orphan kids here at the Merritts and sing it to them.
It was my uncle, Glenn, who taught me this crazy song that nobody I’ve ever known (before or since) has ever heard of: “Tom and I went to the circus. Tom got his with a rolling pin. We’ll get even with that circus, we’ll buy tickets and won’t go in.” He’d start singing it and get faster every time he repeated each verse. It would get pretty silly toward the end.
Mike, if you haven’t heard Fogerty’s “I Will Walk With You,” then get thee to iTunes quickly. It is the perfect song for a grandfather of a granddaughter.
I sing Keb’Mo’s “Baby Blue”, and JT’s “Close Your Eyes” and (of course) “Sweet Baby James” to my sweet six-year-old James.
And I can’t WAIT to read him The Hobbit. Years ago I bought a special, illustrated, hard-bound version of it for just that occasion. Soon. Very soon.
The very last part of the bedtime ritual for my first son was to sing to him, Tell Me Why. He loved it until he figured out that it meant bed was next. As soon as I would start to sing it, he would put his little hand over my mouth and say, “Shh. No, Mommy, no.”
I can still hear my Mom singing “Que Sera, Sera” to me when I was a little boy. One of my Dad’s favorite church songs was “My God and I.” I sang this one to my son in the womb when my wife was still carrying him, and it has such a deep meaning for me on so many levels. And then there were all the whiskey songs my Dad passed on to me from his humble middle Tennessee upbringing. “Hole in the Bottom of the Sea” was fun, too. It was so fun for me to teach that to kids at camp a few years ago, and for them to look at me with the same amazement I remember having for my Dad when he would spit out the rapidfire mouthful of words required by the time you got to the last verse.
I’ve always sung all the classic lullabies to our girls, but one of my favorites to sing to them has been “Sweet Child of Mine” by Guns ‘N’ Roses. The words are so pretty — some examples:
“She’s got a smile that it seems to me
Reminds me of childhood memories
Where everything
Was as fresh as the bright blue sky”
and
“Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place
Where as a child I’d hide
And pray for the thunder
And the rain
To quietly pass me by.”
You just want to stop singing before the song gets to the screaming part at the end or you’ll defeat the whole purpose of a lullaby.
“Rockin’, rollin’ ridin’
All along the bay
All bound for mornin’ town
Many miles away.”
I can still hear my mom’s sweet voice singing me to sleep!
My girls get a lot of made up songs, but also “St. Judy’s Comet” by Paul Simon, “Not While I’m Around” from Sweeny Todd and “Sweet Baby James” (and just about anything else) by James Taylor.
I got the “Bushel and Peck” song, too. However, the one that came to mind when I read your post was “Flee as a Bird”. My mom sang it to me as she rocked me when I was tiny. It’s still very comforting to me.
My parents sang lots of songs to us (and with us) but one of my favorite memories is when I was very, very little. Dad would sit me in front of our old black-and-white TV screen, with the TV turned off. The screen was shiny and convex and he’d point out the reflections in the surface. My parents bedroom door was right across from the TV. He’d yell, “Hey Patti! Could you come in here for just a minute!” And Mom would open the door (and we saw her “on the TV”) and Dad would break into a rather operatic version of “There she is— Miss America!” and I’d join in while Mom blushed.
My mom used to rock me and sing the “I’ll love you forever” song from the picture book by the same title. I guess she just made up the tune…
Tell me why the stars do shine
Tell me why the twines
Tell me why the ocean’s blue
And I will tell you just why I love you.
Because God made the stars to shine
Because God made the ivy twine
Because God made the ocean blue
Because God made you that’s why I love you.
My mommy sang this to me and I sang it to my Whitney and Sam.
I play my guitar and sing for my kids most every day. The song my son most frequently requests: “Pigs on the Wing” by Pink Floyd.
Deana Nall sings Axl Rose - the Hits/Kids Version. Can’t wait for AC/DC.
Mike,
You should already be singing, or at least playing “Little Miss Magic”.
Great song, and it will introduce her to Buffet. Anyone who is the parent (or grandparent) of a little girl will get nostalgic during that song, no matter how old their little girl is.
I bought the new Allison Krause cd the other day. I have listened to it several times, she sings “Baby Mine,” on the cd. Every time I have heard it my heart wells up with emotion because it reminds me of those thoughts of a new parent. My youngest are 8, so it has been a while since I held their little toes in the palm of my hand. But that song brings back just what it felt like.
my daddy read me the hobbit growing up =) im definitely doing that for my kids.
Warning:
Studies have shown that an early introduction to The Hobbit and other writings by Tolkien can lead to smoking… long, long pipes, blowing really cool smoke rings, even downing occasional flaggons of “brown beer.”
The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon
There is an inn, a merry old inn
beneath an old grey hill,
And there they brew a beer so brown
That the Man in the Moon himself came down
one night to drink his fill.
The ostler has a tipsy cat
that plays a five-stringed fiddle;
And up and down he saws his bow
Now squeaking high, now purring low,
now sawing in the middle.
The landlord keeps a little dog
that is mighty fond of jokes;
When there’s good cheer among the guests,
He cocks an ear at all the jests
and laughs until he chokes.
They also keep a hornéd cow
as proud as any queen;
But music turns her head like ale,
And makes her wave her tufted tail
and dance upon the green.
And O! the rows of silver dishes
and the store of silver spoons!
For Sunday there’s a special pair,
And these they polish up with care
on Saturday afternoons.
The Man in the Moon was drinking deep,
and the cat began to wail;
A dish and a spoon on the table danced,
The cow in the garden madly pranced
and the little dog chased his tail.
The Man in the Moon took another mug,
and then rolled beneath his chair;
And there he dozed and dreamed of ale,
Till in the sky the stars were pale,
and dawn was in the air.
Then the ostler said to his tipsy cat:
‘The white horses of the Moon,
They neigh and champ their silver bits;
But their master’s been and drowned his wits,
and the Sun’ll be rising soon!’
So the cat on the fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle,
a jig that would wake the dead:
He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune,
While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon:
‘It’s after three!’ he said.
They rolled the Man slowly up the hill
and bundled him into the Moon,
While his horses galloped up in rear,
And the cow came capering like a deer,
and a dish ran up with the spoon.
Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle;
the dog began to roar,
The cow and the horses stood on their heads;
The guests all bounded from their beds
and danced upon the floor.
With a ping and a pang the fiddle-strings broke!
the cow jumped over the Moon,
And the little dog laughed to see such fun,
And the Saturday dish went off at a run
with the silver Sunday spoon.
The round Moon rolled behind the hill,
as the Sun raised up her head.
She hardly believed her fiery eyes;
For though it was day, to her surprise
they all went back to bed!
JRR Tolkien
Deana - That’s awesome!!!
Stephen - Don’t you prefer “Pretty Women” from Sweeney??? (BTW - My hubby was Toby in a production of Sweeney in college - where I fell in love with him.)
Cope, you’ve got it as bad as the rest of us grandparents! Congratulations! Ain’t it grand???
Beverly, my mom sang me the exact same song. I loved it and I had our choir sing it our wedding almost 15 years ago!
don’t remember a particular song, but we had a favorite book. it’s a little known Dr. Seuss book about Marvin K. Mooney. my adult children each have their own copy. make sure you find a copy to read to your baby.
We (my mother, sister & I) always sang “She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain When She Comes” when we traveled, except that we changed a lot of the words just for fun. I can remember laughing so hard at all the silly versions we made up. We grew up listening to sound tracks to all the musicals of the 60s & 70s–Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, etc. and Sing Along with Mitch Miller. My mother used to always sing “Let the Beauty of Jesus Be Seen In Me” at ladies’ bible class and it is very special to me. I found this sweet book “Mommy, Who does God Love?” and read it all the time to my nephew a few years back (before he was a teenager). We had to read that one over and over again. I guess my favorite bedtime story was “Home for a Bunny”, illustrated by Eloise Wilkins. “Spring, spring, spring sang the Robin…..” is the first line. It is a Little Golden Book and is still available I think.
“I loved her first” by Heartland is a song you need to check out, Mike…and be sure she knows you loved her first…long before some young man comes along to capture her heart!
My Mom also sang the 3 little fishies song. My dad sang Bill Grogan’s Goat, Down by the Station, and cracked us up with some ditty called “While the Organ Pealed Potatoes.” His dad sang Inky Dinky Parley Voo (a cleaned-up version I’m sure, not the WWI original.)
I think I have commented one other time on your blog. I enjoy reading your blog and the comments very much. But when I thought about songs sung when I was young, I immediately thought about my dad, who has passed away. He played guitar and taught me to play some chords so we could play together. We would sing, “The Yellow Rose of Texas” and “You Are My Sunshine” or “Irene, Goodnight, Irene”. He liked country music and I claimed that I didn’t, but when I hear music that sounds like his music, I smile and turn it up. Thanks for jogging my memory.
Stuball the Racehorse was the oldest memory of my dad singing to me, and now I sing it to my son.
Belinda, I, too was a big fan of “Marvin K. Mooney, will you please go now?!!” Classic Seuss is a must for every child’s library - good call.
It sounds like you are having a wonderful time with Reese!
My youngest girl is now almost six, but her favorite lullaby was Twinkle Little Star. She would request that in Bible class, Life Group, and everywhere in between.
I also sang a lot of Karyn Henly songs from her Playsongs videos. Those are wonderful for young kids to introduce them to God’s world and God’s love. Five Little Ladybugs was our favorite…maybe you could warm up to the Hobbit with these!
Since I want my children to have good memories of their children, I have decided to not sing to them at all.
With the classics that are mentioned, I’m questioning my parenting skills. My nightly rendition of Margaritaville was put to death by the family censor, so our regular sing-a-long rotation currently includes: “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart….WHERE? (in unison)…, as well as “Zacchaeus was a wee little man…” If JOY busses ever come back, Benny will be singing the loudest.
I was just thinkning the other day that the “blog father” has not been quite the same since he became a grandfather! But I think that is as it should be. I know you guys are LOVING having Reese and family there for an extended stay. How fun!
No time to read the other 57 comments but “brown eyed girl” was big with me growing up. All my kids have blue eyes though so we have abandoned Van Morrison for Elton John’s “Blue eyes”…not as fun but it works.
As a child, when one of us sang the four of sang - and in good CofC tradition, four part harmony.
My dad and his siblings had a bunch of weird songs they’d sing together. Can’t replicate them here, though. They all require sound effects such as Bronx cheers, razzberries, etc. LOL
Thanks to Dad, I have a deep love of good music, mostly classics, but any genre that is well presented.
As I grew a bit older, my dad always wanted me to sing Brahms “Lullaby” for him. Just can’t handle singing it now since the last time I sang it was at his funeral.
When they were little I rocked them to: “Away in a Manger”, “Whisper a Prayer”, “Tell Me the Story of Jesus”, and as Toddlers: “Bushel and a Peck”, “You are My Sunshine”, and a little older still: “I Know a Place Where No One Ever Goes”, Walkin’ Down Heaven’s Road”, God is Love”. They each have a favorite that I still get requests for: “I Will Lie Down and Sleep…” for the 16-yr-old, “Hush Little Baby” for the 12 yr old, and “The Ole Hooty Owl” (my own version) for the 10 yr old. It is a very special time putting them to bed each night!! A great song to sing in the morning (I sing it every day in the shower) is: “Step by Step” …..”….I will seek You in the morning, and I will learn to walk in Your ways, and step by step You’ll lead me, and I will follow You all of my days….”
When I was little, my mother, who has a beautiful voice, would sing, “Winken and Blinken and Nod one night, sailed off in a wooden shoe. . .” I loved listening to her sing that, but I can’t think of any more of the words.
When we lived in Amarillo, I was a member of an acapella doo-wop group of a bunch of guys from church. There was a teenage girl there who used to sing “Good night sweetheart” with her folks every evening as they went to bed. The girl was killed in a car accident at 16, and we were asked to sing at the funeral. They requested that song, just as we sang it, and it was the hardest thing I have ever done.
Music is powerful….memories, memories.
What joy new life brings to families!!! You are enjoying a very sweet time right now. Also, kids are NEVER too young to hear “The Hobbit”. I think we read it several times. I remember hearing you speak a few years back at Highland and you were talking about reading it to Chris -I think that is a wonderful dad thing and will be a wonderful granddad thing! My mother sang so many things to us, but I mostly remember her singing “My Jesus, I Love Thee”. Years later, I sang it to my children and then much to the surprise of almost everyone, Christine sang it to Matt before she walked down the aisle at their wedding. I love to sing it to Jack, because it just brings back such sweet memories, but more than that, I want him to KNOW those words. Now, we sing it for Baby Samuel as we pray for his safe arrival in just a few weeks. Thanks for always stirring us to remember…
Blessings…
Wow… my daddy just sang “Sittin’ On The Dock of the Bay” and “Proud Mary”.
My mom made up a song (I guess) that was sung to me while she or my dad carried me to bed. “To the bed we go, to the bed we go. Down where the little girls grow. To the bed we go, to the bed we go. With a hey diddle diddle diddle dee, boom boom.” And when she said “boom boom” I got tossed into the air and down onto the mattress. At least it felt like it was in the air. Doing it with my kids when they were little I realized that it really wasn’t the free fall that it felt like when I was little. But oh, so fun.
Abuelo’s I love that restruant! That is where we told our parents we were expecting our third son.
Each of my sons had a different song:
Oldest - James Taylor - Love Songs off of Gorilla
Middle - Elton John - Blue Eyes off of Jump Up
Youngest - James Taylor - Daddy’s Baby off of Walking Man
We spent many of time walking back and forth across the rooms with me singing these songs, though they don’t remember now I will never forget.
Best Fogerty song: Wrote A Song For Ev’ryone
Saw the people standin’ thousand years in chains.
Somebody said it’s diff’rent now, look, it’s just the same.
Pharoahs spin the message, round and round the truth.
They could have saved a million people, How can I tell you?
Wrote A Song For Ev’ryone,
Wrote a song for truth.
Wrote A Song For Ev’ryone
And I couldn’t even talk to you.
Our boys’ favorite bed time song right now is ‘Do Lord’. You know, the old VBS song. Our oldest adds extras to it which he (and we) think are hilarious. I’ll show you whit I mean.
Do Lord, Oh, Do Lord, Oh Do remember me (OH BABY)
Do Lord, oh do Lord, oh do remember me (OH BABY)
etc…
I’ve gotta home in gloryland that outshines the sun (OUTSHINE IT NOW)
I’ve gotta home in Gloryland that outshines the sun (OUTSHINE IT NOW)
etc…
I’ll take Jesus as my Savior, you take Him too (TAKE HIM TOO NOW)
I’ll take Jesus as my Savior, you take HIm too (TAKE HIM TOO NOW)
etc…
You’d think that we were Holy Rollers or something but we’re not. It cracks us up.
He also likes Blue Skies and Rainbows.
Away in a Manger has also always been a special one for him since he was born near Chrismas.
I’m so thankful for songs that mean something to him.
I have three of your books. Heard you at Harding U. many moons ago. My husband and I have 5 children. I used to sing to them, “i wanna kiss you all over…(and then I’d kiss them frantically all over their face and neck and hands and arms) and over again! (and then I’d do it again)
3 little fishies… yep… my mom used to sing “Somewhere My Love” - I think she rocked me and sang - 1967 being the year I was born… have always loved that song. She took guitar lessons and I remember her practicing ansd singing “Swingin’ On A Star” - loved that one!! We used to sing in the car - lots of weekend trips and I remember one very hot trip from California to Texas where she was bribing me with a hot chocolate — in 100+ degree heat (which wasn’t a big motivator) if I could stay on the melody why she did the harmony to a Girl Scout song: “Little drop of dew of dew, like a gem you are. I believe that you must have been a star.” I’m so extremely thankful for those times singing in the car and learning to harmonize — and be able to keep my own part
I had a great uncle who, when he’d see me would sort of sing “Carry me back to Old Virginie” and he’ll still call me “Carrie me Back” when he sees me.
I have lots of memories of girl scout songs ” A Poor and Carefree Stranger” - “Dona Nobis Pacem” - “John Jangle Jingleheimer Smith” (sp?)
“Make New Friends” — mom used to teach me.
Yep, music is powerful powerful!
Hey Mike,
Is this my legalism roots coming out? Last week, we were talking about the song, “Old Cotton Fields Back Home” that you mentioned. It contains a major geographical error. “It was down in Louisiana, just about a mile from Texarkana” - which is not even close to being accurate. Not even close. Perhaps the author of that song was sincere, but sincerely wrong.
Your blog reminded me that I used to make up songs to sing to my children. Music is always overflowing at our household. Now, that we have our first wedding among our four children, I look forward to the day of being a grandparent as well.
Sounds like Pepperdine was VERY special. Sorry I missed it this year.
Thanks for all you do Brother!
My mother, by her own admission, cannot sing. So I don’t remember being sung to.
But with my son, I made up a big bunch of songs. Usually ones begging him to get to sleep.
Nowadays, though, my son’s eight and when I start to sing, he’ll order me to, “Stop singing!”
Three kids and dad on the bed. One kid (3 yr old) running around the room swinging “Sting”. Yep. We finished reading “The Hobbit” just a few months ago. We’ve moved on to “The Princess and the Goblin” by MacDonald. One of my favorite memories is of mom reading Narnia to my brother and I and our friends. I remember it being a summertime treat.
Hush, little, baby, don’t say a word, mama’s gonna buy you a mockin’ bird, If that mockingbird don’t sing, mama’s gonna buy you a diamond ring…..sang it to kids and now to my grandkids. It’s the song I think of when it’s rockin’ time!!
Kudos to Laurie Burkner!!
My mother sang A busshel and a peck, Goodnight Irene in my grandma Irene’s honor and sunday school songs. I used to sing to my kids a lot of Peter, Paul and Mary songs, inclucing Puff, the Magic Dragon, Freight Train, and Stewball. I also sang some from John Denver and Gordon Lightfoot. I didn’tsing them to sleep though, always read to them.