"Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear." Singing is a way to access joy. It can transform a mood, evoke a range of emotion and provide cathartic release.
I love to sing - even though I’m terrible, it still brings me so much joy! I loved playing PlayStation games - SingStar initially, and then Rockband (greater range of songs). Usually with a lot of alcohol involved - and almost exclusively singing by myself. Now I don’t drink, so I find I don’t play these games as much. Might have to change that! Some of the songs make me cry when I sing - Janis’s Me and Bobby McGee; George Michael’s Freedom. Others fill me with with a high - Blues Traveler’s Run Around, Belly’s Feed The Tree, Save Feris’s (ska? version) Come On Eileen, Lisa Loeb’s Stay.
I’ve been enjoying the ability to work from home - I have a record player in my ‘office’ and like to plan what I’m going to play during the day. Always tapping along and humming and singing. Probably a good thing that I’m not back in the office with actual coworkers - happy at home with two non-judgemental pooches.
I’m unfamiliar with some of those titles and will check them out!
I have been meaning to buy a record player forever. It’s such a different experience being able to listen to the music as a story, the way the musician intended it to be. In the order they wanted their songs to be heard.
My two inu are funny - one looks at me with a sideways head: why are you howling mum? And the other gets excited with the ‘high energy’ vibe and wants to dance.
I hope you do get an opportunity to get a record player and talk to your kids about music and what makes it special to you. Music is now so easy to find and consume online without too much thought, but actually sitting with it and listening to it, as you pointed out, in the order it was intended, that’s the journey.
Singing is so important. In fact just tonight I had seven close friends who are helping navigate the grief of a wonderful friend who has just passed. I recommended we all go out to karaoke. Half were in — the rest were sick to their stomach by the thought of singing in front of other people. I convinced everyone to just come (some with liquid courage) but you know, EVERYONE had such a great time. Singing in honor of our friend — some 80’s favorites, some silly ones and a couple of sad ones. All important way to be together and celebrate our lost friend (who will always be with us — certainly in song)!
My condolences Christina. I am glad you were able to be with friends to celebrate the one you lost with song and togetherness. It sounds like a beautiful commemoration for a beautiful person (both inside and out). ❤️
What a rich post on the power of song! Only you could tackle the multilayered kineticism of music in such an engaging way.I learned so much: from
the language of lullabies to the full lyrics of “You Are My Sunshine” which I thought was a lullaby and is my connective song with my eldest. Music is one of the ways I express love. I text songs to those close to me all the time. We believe in collective singing, signature albums and made up songs. The song I sing to my grandson is the same made up song that my mother sang to me. And whenever I doubt the power of music I remember its ability to transmit the space between strangers. Like the time my youngest and I were singing “Do Re Mi” from the Sound of Music while we were waiting in a line and the whole line joined in — unabashedly loud and without embarrassment. The positive energy shared in that moment, among strangers, made my son’s whole day and nearly made me cry. And look. Here is the power of music in your post, linking songs and words and us all down here in the comments. Don’t tell me you can’t sing, Z.
I like the way you’ve identified song as a love language. And how you’ve incorporated it in to everyday experiences.
“You are my sunshine” is absolutely a lullaby. 😁 We sing it all the time. When my children were much younger we used to listen to Elizabeth Mitchell’s version (along with just about everything else she recorded). There are so many recorded versions - it’s fun to try them on for size.
And the “Do, a Deer” story! I would have been bawling, lol. That song is one of my favorites too. Guess Julie Andrews’s got a hold on both of our families.
Finally, you are right, the songs my mother made up are the dearest to me. I sing them to my children and she inspired me to make up my own as well.
Also thank you for including the link to the essay by Kristin Wong, ‘What Lullabies Teach Us About Language’. A beautifully written piece about her experience as a young mother and her memory of a childhood lullaby as a child with her own mother.
Singing is so universal, so deeply in us....and you’re right, children love and recognize the beauty of music and singing right away. Singing to and with them is so special❤️Love that you included the early Sesame Street version of ‘Sing’ that was done as a vocal and sign language duet.
I second this! I was obsessed with that Sesame Street version as a kid and as soon as you referenced singing out loud, that was the song I sung in my head (because I couldn't out loud!)
Linda on Sesame Street is absolutely the reason I took ASL classes all those years back. If I had the gift of fluency in multiple languages, American Sign Language would absolutely be one of them.
"Singing is a way to access joy. It can transform a mood, evoke a range of emotion and provide cathartic release." This is the truest. I find myself relying on song FREQUENTLY when a shift in mood is required. I've always loved to sing. It is such a satisfying direct route from feeling to expression. And speaking of lullabies and Sade, "By Your Side" was a favorite early lullaby for me. I heard it for the first time the day before going to the hospital for a scheduled induction when I was pregnant with my oldest. I agree that many "love songs" transcend romantic love. Also, I love that you included "Sing" from Sesame Street. We're talkin' core memories!
Core memories indeed! Sometimes I have the wherewithal to sing when I get super angry to keep from yelling and then I sound like the worst opera singer ever or the least talented Disney villain. Heh. Sade stays good. I’d love to hear you sing one day Lorraine!
I sing all the time! I used to sing in a choir but my voice has dropped far enough down that I would be singing in the bass clef! I don't care, I sing anytime I feel like it and apologize afterward! Especially with children, I sing. Who knew how many melodies I could sing to, "Now it's time to pick up toys!" Thanks for a great set of memories.
I too sang in the choir though it seems like lifetimes ago. And I am positive I can no longer hit the notes I did in HS. Lol. I like that singing is something I consider essential for living- and I’m unwilling to not do it. 😁
I love to sing - even though I’m terrible, it still brings me so much joy! I loved playing PlayStation games - SingStar initially, and then Rockband (greater range of songs). Usually with a lot of alcohol involved - and almost exclusively singing by myself. Now I don’t drink, so I find I don’t play these games as much. Might have to change that! Some of the songs make me cry when I sing - Janis’s Me and Bobby McGee; George Michael’s Freedom. Others fill me with with a high - Blues Traveler’s Run Around, Belly’s Feed The Tree, Save Feris’s (ska? version) Come On Eileen, Lisa Loeb’s Stay.
I’ve been enjoying the ability to work from home - I have a record player in my ‘office’ and like to plan what I’m going to play during the day. Always tapping along and humming and singing. Probably a good thing that I’m not back in the office with actual coworkers - happy at home with two non-judgemental pooches.
I’m unfamiliar with some of those titles and will check them out!
I have been meaning to buy a record player forever. It’s such a different experience being able to listen to the music as a story, the way the musician intended it to be. In the order they wanted their songs to be heard.
I have to ask, do the 🐶🐶 ever join in? 😁
My two inu are funny - one looks at me with a sideways head: why are you howling mum? And the other gets excited with the ‘high energy’ vibe and wants to dance.
I hope you do get an opportunity to get a record player and talk to your kids about music and what makes it special to you. Music is now so easy to find and consume online without too much thought, but actually sitting with it and listening to it, as you pointed out, in the order it was intended, that’s the journey.
Singing is so important. In fact just tonight I had seven close friends who are helping navigate the grief of a wonderful friend who has just passed. I recommended we all go out to karaoke. Half were in — the rest were sick to their stomach by the thought of singing in front of other people. I convinced everyone to just come (some with liquid courage) but you know, EVERYONE had such a great time. Singing in honor of our friend — some 80’s favorites, some silly ones and a couple of sad ones. All important way to be together and celebrate our lost friend (who will always be with us — certainly in song)!
My condolences Christina. I am glad you were able to be with friends to celebrate the one you lost with song and togetherness. It sounds like a beautiful commemoration for a beautiful person (both inside and out). ❤️
What a rich post on the power of song! Only you could tackle the multilayered kineticism of music in such an engaging way.I learned so much: from
the language of lullabies to the full lyrics of “You Are My Sunshine” which I thought was a lullaby and is my connective song with my eldest. Music is one of the ways I express love. I text songs to those close to me all the time. We believe in collective singing, signature albums and made up songs. The song I sing to my grandson is the same made up song that my mother sang to me. And whenever I doubt the power of music I remember its ability to transmit the space between strangers. Like the time my youngest and I were singing “Do Re Mi” from the Sound of Music while we were waiting in a line and the whole line joined in — unabashedly loud and without embarrassment. The positive energy shared in that moment, among strangers, made my son’s whole day and nearly made me cry. And look. Here is the power of music in your post, linking songs and words and us all down here in the comments. Don’t tell me you can’t sing, Z.
I like the way you’ve identified song as a love language. And how you’ve incorporated it in to everyday experiences.
“You are my sunshine” is absolutely a lullaby. 😁 We sing it all the time. When my children were much younger we used to listen to Elizabeth Mitchell’s version (along with just about everything else she recorded). There are so many recorded versions - it’s fun to try them on for size.
And the “Do, a Deer” story! I would have been bawling, lol. That song is one of my favorites too. Guess Julie Andrews’s got a hold on both of our families.
Finally, you are right, the songs my mother made up are the dearest to me. I sing them to my children and she inspired me to make up my own as well.
Also thank you for including the link to the essay by Kristin Wong, ‘What Lullabies Teach Us About Language’. A beautifully written piece about her experience as a young mother and her memory of a childhood lullaby as a child with her own mother.
I agree. It really is beautifully written. I’ll be seeking out more of her writing.
Singing is so universal, so deeply in us....and you’re right, children love and recognize the beauty of music and singing right away. Singing to and with them is so special❤️Love that you included the early Sesame Street version of ‘Sing’ that was done as a vocal and sign language duet.
I second this! I was obsessed with that Sesame Street version as a kid and as soon as you referenced singing out loud, that was the song I sung in my head (because I couldn't out loud!)
Linda on Sesame Street is absolutely the reason I took ASL classes all those years back. If I had the gift of fluency in multiple languages, American Sign Language would absolutely be one of them.
"Singing is a way to access joy. It can transform a mood, evoke a range of emotion and provide cathartic release." This is the truest. I find myself relying on song FREQUENTLY when a shift in mood is required. I've always loved to sing. It is such a satisfying direct route from feeling to expression. And speaking of lullabies and Sade, "By Your Side" was a favorite early lullaby for me. I heard it for the first time the day before going to the hospital for a scheduled induction when I was pregnant with my oldest. I agree that many "love songs" transcend romantic love. Also, I love that you included "Sing" from Sesame Street. We're talkin' core memories!
Core memories indeed! Sometimes I have the wherewithal to sing when I get super angry to keep from yelling and then I sound like the worst opera singer ever or the least talented Disney villain. Heh. Sade stays good. I’d love to hear you sing one day Lorraine!
I sing all the time! I used to sing in a choir but my voice has dropped far enough down that I would be singing in the bass clef! I don't care, I sing anytime I feel like it and apologize afterward! Especially with children, I sing. Who knew how many melodies I could sing to, "Now it's time to pick up toys!" Thanks for a great set of memories.
I too sang in the choir though it seems like lifetimes ago. And I am positive I can no longer hit the notes I did in HS. Lol. I like that singing is something I consider essential for living- and I’m unwilling to not do it. 😁