I am not someone who sings well. My old joke is that I couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. I may be a little harsh on myself as I actually sing fairly well when no one is around to hear. I rarely sing in public although I will help belt out the chorus to “The Wild Rover” when it comes up at Irish music sessions. I’ll also join in sea shanty rounds when they come up, and take my turn with a verse or two, but for the most part I’m not a public singer.
Then Jack came along. When presented with a squabbling infant, I wasn’t sure what to do. A little rocking. That worked. Some gentle bouncing. That worked, too.
What really worked well, though, was singing. Poor kid. But I couldn’t deny the results. A few songs will knock the kid out, or at least convince him to pretend to sleep so I will eventually stop singing.
Now I prepare a couple of new songs a week to add to the mix. Most are Irish folk songs, a bit of punk or Irish-punk fusion, and so forth. Below are some of the songs I tend to sing to Jack (with a description of said song). In some instances I’ve included some YouTube links. Enjoy.
“Dear Boss” (aka “The Bricklayers Song”) as performed by The Clancy Brothers
A song about workplace accidents and total disregard for construction site safety.
“Mr. Moses Ri-Tooral-I-Ay” as performed by The Clancy Brothers
A prideful policeman cannot tell the difference between Gaelic (which was outlawed in Ireland at the time) and Hebrew. This leads to his downfall.
(These two songs, sung one after the other, usually get Jack settled and near to sleeping. If that doesn’t work, I follow it up with the next two songs which often do the trick.)
“Hills of Connemara” as performed by Gaelic Storm and others
A song about illegal liquor production and tax evasion.
“Hog-Eyed Man” as performed by Martin Carthy and others
A deep-water sailor sings of his contempt for fresh-water bargemen and suspects his wife of infidelity.
“Body of an American” by The Pogues
A recently deceased Irish-American boxer’s eulogy.
“Up On the Hill Where They Do the Boogie” by John Hartford
A man wonders what his neighbors are up to and then chases some hippies off his property.
“I Wanna Be Sedated” by The Ramones
Self-explanatory.
(Works best when sung in a lounge-singer fashion.)
“The Merry Minuet” by The Kingston Trio
A song about worldwide strife and nuclear annihilation.
(This song is just about the perfect length for a diaper change, and is usually reserved for that task.)
“Whistling Gypsy Rover” as performed by The Clancy Brothers
A woman runs away from home to follow a vagabond, but it’s okay because he’s really a rich landowner.
“Dirty Old Town” as perfomed by The Pogues and others
Bittersweet song about life in a small industrial town in Ireland.
“Tommy McEldoo” as performed by the Clancy Brothers
A drunken pub crawl featuring gluttony, fighting, and stiffing the bill.
(Works well with a gentle bouncing.)
“Finnegan’s Wake” as perfomed by The Clancy Brothers
An allegory for Christ’s resurrection.
“Andy’s Chest” by Lou Reed
I dunno… a dream sequnce? Possible drug-induced? I don’t really know. It has some neat imagery in it, though, and I like the song–particularly the “swoop, swoop… baby, rock, rock!” bit at the end. (Might also be an allegory for Christ’s resurrection. Who can tell?)
“A Pair of Brown Eyes” by The Pogues
PTSD and the horrors of war.
“Sweet Transvestite” as performed by Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show
A young couple’s car breaks down during a storm. They are given shelter by a seemingly pleasant, cross-dressing scientist (possibly from eastern Europe?) who is having a party. They are invited to view a film starring Steve Reeves. (Well babies, don’t you panic.) They have meatloaf for dinner.
Now some, many, even most of you may think these songs inappropriate to sing to a young child. Well, I’m singing to him to soothe and, perhaps, entertain. He doesn’t know the words, but Jack seems to enjoy the sounds, the little movements that sometimes accompany the songs, and maybe the vibration of me singing as Jack lays against my chest.
The words are for me. I’m not ready to descend into the existential madness of singing about wheels on a bus going round and round and round and round and round, and other such nonsense. For however long it takes for a new human to acquire the power of language comprehension, I am going to continue singing him songs that, musically, will be entertaining and soothing, but, lyrically, keep me engaged as well.
Plus, it’s never too soon to impress some good music on a child. Right?
Cheers!
