Music is my joy
singing erases bad moods
lifting the spirit
Cori MacNaughton
As the daughter of two pianists, to say that my family was into music would be a major understatement, as it was simply a large part of who we were.
Music has infused pretty much every day I've spent on this planet, in one way or another, and even when I am not physically listening to music, I am frequently regaling myself with a wonderful internal concert.
I once joked with my mother that I'd do fine in solitary confinement, because I'd simply spend my time replaying music in my mind, since I tend to live inside my head as it is. ;-)
So what does our lovely native Appalachian wild ginger (no relation to the tropical spice ginger) have to do with music?
Actually, quite a lot, for me at least, as hot beverages help to warm and loosen the vocal chords in preparation for singing. As an inveterate tea drinker, who loves all manner of herbal teas, this is one I indulge in from time to time.
Only a leaf or two is required for a very nice, light, and fragrant brew. Just place it in a teapot, or a Pyrex measuring cup, pour near-boiling water over the leaves, and steep for five minutes or a bit longer before enjoying. You can crush the leaves to release more flavor. I prefer mine unsweetened.
As I've related in previous posts, my mother was a classical pianist, and my father was a jazz pianist, and also a school teacher. Which, frankly, my mom probably should have been as well, as she was such a natural teacher. I've been told I am like her in that regard.
Between my parents, and my two older sisters, our ongoing family soundtrack was amazingly diverse, interesting, and more than occasionally hilarious. Both of my parents were into Broadway and London cast shows, some of which can be quite funny, and they were both into comedic musical albums as well, including everyone from the Smothers Brothers and Allen Sherman to Blossom Dearie and Tom Lehrer.
It was my father who brought Tom Lehrer into the mix, as he had Lehrer's first album when my parents met, and my mother promptly became a staunch fan. She made certain to acquire each of his albums as they were released.
For those who are unfamiliar with Lehrer's work, his first album came out when he was still an undergrad at Harvard, and performed there regularly during their talent shows. He later taught mathematics there, and at a number of other colleges and universities, and released a number of other largely topical, intelligent and hilarious albums over the years.
But far and away my mother's favorite song by Lehrer was "The Irish Ballad," from his first album, and she used to sing it to my sisters and me when we were children, a fact that horrified Marek when I first time him about it.
I can't imagine why . . . it is a simple little ditty about a lovely Irish girl who proceeds to kill each and every member of her family, only to be truthful when at last the police came by, "because lying she knew was a sin." And, hands down, it was one of our favorite songs growing up, because it is quite simply hilarious.
Then again, Marek later fell in love with "They Call Me the Wild Rose," from "Dig Cave Dig," the tribute album to Nick Cave featuring covers of many of his murder ballads, at which point I told him he had no more room to complain. ;-)
Unlike Allen Sherman, who adapted well-known songs and wrote new comic lyrics, Tom Lehrer wrote entirely original songs, had a nice singing voice, and was quite a good pianist.
And, because he was highly intelligent and an excellent observer of human nature, he often took his cues from the headlines of the day, meaning that the more you know about 1950s and 1960s pop culture and history, the funnier his songs are, even though many are black humor.
And the commentary leading up to each song is often as funny as the song itself. One of Lehrer's biggest fans was radio personality Dr. Demento, who started a syndicated show in Chicago which later moved to L.A., and he not only played Lehrer's songs on a regular basis, but became a close personal friend of his in later years.
I remember in the 1970s that my sister Carol and I would often listen to Dr. Demento, whose 3-hour show was on Saturdays, and we would be thrilled any time he played something by Lehrer, and/or any of the other musical comedy icons with whose music we were raised.
For those interested, here is Lehrer performing two versions of "The Irish Ballad," along with other commentary and a couple of video clips exploring why we find comic murder ballads funny.
I guarantee that you can find most, if not all of Lehrer's other songs on YouTube, or elsewhere on the web. And they are well worth seeking out, as there are few things that can blast away a bad mood better than singing along to an entirely politically inappropriate, but very funny, song. And to Lehrer, there were no sacred cows; he skewered government, religion, folk music, Boy Scouts, the druggist on the corner, and even his own university.
I inherited my dad's copies of the albums, and have purchases more myself, which I still dearly love. For the record, Weird Al Yankovic has frequently noted that Lehrer is/was one of his biggest influences. Which shows. ;-)
My sister and I also dearly loved, and used to sing together, the lovely ballad "Down in the Willow Garden," from Art Garfunkle's first solo album, "Angel Clare."
Like Lehrer, Garfunkle sung it straight, in harmony, and it is a truly lovely song, which could easily sucker anyone who didn't actually listen to the lyrics. Unlike "The Irish Ballad," "Down in the Willow Garden" is based on a traditional murder ballad from England and Ireland.
Our mom used to roll her eyes as we sang it to her, whereupon we reminded her that, as the the one who fostered a love for "The Irish Ballad" in us as children, she really had no valid complaint. And, naturally, her eye rolling was itself part of the joke, as she liked the song as much as we did, and she loved it when we sang together.
Finally, in parting, I leave you with my personal favorite of Lehrer's murder ballads, and one of my top five of all his songs, "I Hold Your Hand in Mine."
Please note that most of Lehrer's songs were NOT murder ballads, and he even wrote comic songs about hunting, politics, National Brotherhood Week, the nuclear arms race, mathematics and the Periodic Table of Elements; the latter of which he set to the tune of "The Modern Major General," from "The Pirates of Penzance," by Gilbert and Sullivan. ;-)
A clever, eclectic and well-rounded man, our Mr. Lehrer. ;-)
And I would love to hear your take in the comments.
A Date with Marek - Day 121 - Daily Haiku
For the Alliance - Day 120 - Daily Haiku - My Application to join The Alliance
Speaking Words of Love - Day 119 - Daily Haiku
Speaking My Own Truth - Day 118 - Daily Haiku - and some Questions for Empaths and Lightworkers
Buddies to the end - Our cat Miod and our dog Lolo - Daily Pet Photography
Loveliest Flower - Day 117 - Daily Haiku
Sweet Little Kitty - Day 116 - Daily Haiku
When I Was Shot At - Golden State Killer - Day 115 - Daily Haiku - part 2
Golden State Killer - Day 114 - Daily Haiku - part 1
To Our Mockingbird - Day 113 - Daily Haiku
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All words are my own.
The image of the wild ginger I took on our property earlier this spring with my Samsung Note 8 smart phone.
The additional images and videos are the intellectual property of their respective owners, and all rights remain with them.
I claim no rights, but offer these videos, as I offer all the music videos I post, in the hopes of promoting my favorite music artists, so that more people become familiar with their music, and that they grow their fan base in the process, as they so richly deserve.
The photo of our dog, Lolo, and our late cat, Miod, I took as they were cooperatively begging at the dinner table, despite our longstanding rule of not feeding them from the table.
You can see how much that deterred them both.
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