Sing. Sing A Song.

We're singing alot around the Bouldin house these days. Mostly for Julia. Sometimes we make up songs. When I get tired of doing that, I start in on the older songs, the ones you learned at camp. I especially like the ones with lots of verses (suggestions welcome). I began with There's a Hole in the Bucket, but soon tired of that one because Julia laughed in all the wrong spots and I got tired of having to explain the joke.

One of the books I'm reading lists one or two verses of Clementine. I never knew it had verses at all. It's not the cheerfulest song you've ever heard. It actually reminds me of a song my Grandpa Steele taught my brother and I about the demise of Little Willie. There are nine verses, but my favorites are at the end:

In a corner of the churchyard,
Where the myrtle boughs entwine,
Grow the roses in their poses,
Fertilized by Clementine.

In my dreams she still doth haunt me,
Robed in garments soaked in brine.
Though in life I used to hug her,
Now she's dead, I'll draw the line.

How I missed her, how I missed her
How I missed my Clementine.
'Til I kissed her little sister,
And forgot my Clementine.

And then there's the last verse which I think was tacked on later, but I still find pretty funny:

Now you Scouts, there is a moral
To this little tale of mine.
Artificial respiration,
Would have saved my Clementine.

Currently top on my list of songs I thought were for children because I had never actually heard the lyrics and only knew the title is Big Rock Candy Mountain. This is not a happy-go lucky song about a wonderland similar to that of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory only outdoors and located somewhere in the Appalachian mountains. No, instead it is a magical place for unwashed, unkempt men with wooden-legged policemen, liquor-filled lakes, no prison and free food. Now I can get behind the free food, but the rest I'm not so sure about. If I had ever heard even the chorus, I would have realized how misguided my ideas were about this song:

Oh the buzzin' of the bees in the cigarette trees near the soda water fountain,
At the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings on the Big Rock Candy Mountains

And right now my number one song on my Songs I Sing to Julia:

The Alphabet Love Song

When Johnny Jones was serenading Mary,
He sure could quote a lot of poetry
But he'd much rather tell her
what he learned in his speller
When they both attended PS thirty-three....

(chorus)
"A," you're adorable, "B," you're so beautiful,
"C," you're a cutie full of charms.
"D," you're a darling and "E," you're exciting
And "F," you're a feather in my arms.
"G," you look good to me, "H," you're so heavenly,
"I," you're the one I idolize.
"J," we're like Jack and Jill, "K," you're so kissable,
"L," is the lovelight in your eyes.

"M," "N," "O," "P," I could go on all day.
"Q," "R," "S," "T," alphabetically speaking, you're OK.

U," made my life complete, "V," means you're very sweet,
Double-"U" "X" "Y" "Zee."
It's fun to wander through the alphabet with you
To tell you what you mean to me.
(repeat the chorus)



I found several sites with lyrics and midi files (useful if you've never heard the song before or don't remember anything but the tune of the chorus):

1. This site is hosted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. It has a fun "Name That Tune" game that you can play.
2. This site contains most of the songs sung by the Scouts. There were quite a few that I didn't know and some just stick "Scout" in the lyrics to replace some other word (ie-The Cub Scouts Went Over the Mountain ... I mean, really.) It doesn't have as many sound files as the first one.
3. This site is very organized listing the songs by category (folk, animal, nature, etc.) Good stuff.