I’ve written in the past about singing to the boy, and I’m happy report that it’s still an effective means of interacting with said boy. Songs calm him when he’s being fussy. They distract him while he’s waiting for the bottle to warm up. They help usher him toward sleepytime. And best yet… he seems to genuinely enjoy them. He often breaks out into a nice, wide smile when the singing starts.
Mind you, he’s only four and a half months old. He really has no frame of reference for comparison. He has no idea if I’m any good, but I think he approves of the effort.
The repertoire grows. We’re still focusing mostly on folk songs–particularly the sea chantey variety. Here are some of the latest additions:
- “Yarmouth Town” (as performed by Great Big Sea and Gaelic Storm) — Sailors interact with a resident of Yarmouth utilizing a system of pulling strings through windows.
- “Mary Call” (written by Mimi Farina, sung by Joan Baez) — I think it’s about a horse? I haven’t had the album in hand in decades, but think maybe there was something like that in the liner notes? Either way, it’s a song that has always stayed with me.
- “Rolling Down to Old Maui” (traditional sea chantey) — Sailors sing about returning to their home port in Hawaii after a whaling expedition in the frozen waters of the north.
- “General Taylor” (traditional sea chantey) — A capstan song eulogizing the passing of a military leader who, I think, was victorious in some battle in Mexico? I’m not entirely sure. Even though it’s a funeral song, it’s a fun song to sing.
- “John Kanakanaka” (traditional sea chantey) — Sailors in Hawaii celebrate having a day off before weighing anchor for San Francisco.
An interesting side note (or uninteresting, depending on point of view) is that I’ve re-written some of the lyrics for the last two tunes as sort of “fan songs” for Acquisitions Incorporated, a series of live-performance D&D games featuring Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik of Penny Arcade, Scott Kurtz of PVP Online, author Patrick Rothfuss, and D&D lead designer Chris Perkins. “General Taylor” can also be sung as “The Resurrection Song of Binwin Bronzebottom” and “John Kanakanaka” is now also “Omin Dran’s Healing Day.”
Yeah, I’m a nerd, but the nice thing about folk songs is that rewriting them is part of the fun and the mental stimulation keeps da-da from going goo-goo.
Now…on to the fun fundraising aspect. We’re still trying to catch up on all those bills from when Jack first arrived and the pitiless holiday season that followed. As such, I’m proposing a challenge. Check out the Tip Jar icon and link on the right hand side of our home page and for every $225 raised, I will make a video of myself singing one of these songs to Jack and post it on Facebook and this page.
The first song will be “Dear Boss (The Bricklayer’s Song)” as made popular by the Clancy Brothers.
Donations can rollover, so if a $20 donation ends up with a total amount raised of $240, the next round starts out with $15 already being counted toward it. I will also post occasional updates regarding the fundraising challenge here and on our Facebook page.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I should go spray my throat and practice my scales. That’s a thing, right?
Cheers!
–John
