If I Had Words

Scott Fitzgerald & Yvonne Keeley released this song in 1977. It was a big hit in lots of places, including Australia, just not the U.S. The melody is based on the Symphony #3 in C minor by Camille Saint-Saens. However, you can find my favorite version of it below: Farmer Hoggett, played by James Cromwell, sings it to his pig in the movie Babe. I saw this movie in the theaters when I had just started college and this has always been my favorite scene. It is so compelling in its expression of love and sheer joy that I want to dance for someone myself. Enjoy!

Here We Go, Go, Go, Go....

My chatty toddler just started putting words together into phrases and short sentences. She's been able to request certain songs for awhile though. Itsy Bitsy Spider was her first request--she'd put her forefingers together to imitate the spider. Now, however, its more often than not "go, go, go" which translates to the song from the show The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! that premiered on PBS last fall. Random fact: Martin Short provides the Cat's voice. The song is about 3 lines long, but wouldn't you know it, it gets stuck in my head every time. Sometimes I think my little girl is an evil genius.

Skip to My Lou

I remember my 1st grade teacher singing this song while wearing her "field day" hat: it had A&W rootbeer cans crocheted into it with pink yarn. The version you are listening to is from a 1974 album entitled Pete Seeger & Brother Kirk Visit Sesame Street. The folksy sound appeals to me as reminiscent of what the song might have sounded like in the days when settlers tried to tame the wild American frontier.

Rosanna

Just a quick apology for the lengthy hiatus. The holidays kind of took over. Now we'll get back to business.

Toto released this #2 hit in 1982. The single won a Grammy for record of the year. I love how upbeat it is, even though the subject matter, lamenting a lost love, is basically depressing. You've got to love the 80's for that. Wikipedia also provided an interesting tidbit about this song: it is frequently used by drummers as a perfect example of a half-time or triplet shuffle. That basically means that the beat doesn't come at you straight, there's a little swing to it with a lot of other difficult stuff thrown in.

Every Rose Has Its Thorn

When I was a "tween" there was no such thing. You were just a kid then. I was a kid into music, but didn't know what I liked yet and so listened to whatever was on the radio. Back then, hair bands were big on the radio: Guns n' Roses, Van Halen, and Bon Jovi. This power ballad topped the charts at the end of 1988. It was written while Poison was playing at a country bar in Dallas. Can you hear it?

Something's Coming

From the film version of West Side Story (1961). I knew the music was written by Leonard Bernstein, but I didn't realize that Stephen Sondheim provided the lyrics. I guess they don't seem quite as tongue-in-cheek as some of his other works. You have to admit he is a little weird. Again, this is another song not on the playlist, but luckily YouTube had it, though it does have subtitles in some language I'm not sure of. Go figure.

The Lady is a Tramp

Sing it Frankie. My favorite quote about Frank Sinatra comes from the movie Return to Me. The old guys are playing poker and jacking their jaws. Here is part of their conversation about abusive singers: "Sinatra beat up everybody" and the reply "Frank did not. His people did, he did not." Anyway, here he is singing a 1937 Rodgers and Hart tune from their musical Babes in Arms. By the way, for my friend GinaBean: apparently Alice Cooper has done a cover of this song. Just thought you'd like to know. ;)