About a year ago, I made an iTunes playlist of music I'd like to sing to my theoretical future child (let's call him or her "TFC"). I'm not much of a singer (although WP, who's tone deaf, thinks I'm great), but I do love to sing. And I'm a believer in manifesting-- both as a spiritual event and a practical tool. So I created a list of my favorite songs from childhood (Free to Be You and Me, anyone?), and my favorite child-related songs from adulthood. Some of them are about being kids, some are about the wishes and hopes and dreams I have for TFC, some are just about the kind of world I'd like TFC to live in.
Now, who knows how long it will be until TFC gets here. (If my crap-ass ovulation chart is any indication, it's gonna be awhile.)
But my writing partner, WP, is fast closing in on her due date. Her baby, the lovingly nicknamed (by me) Mixed Nuts, will be arriving in just a couple months. And then WP will a mom. And Mixed Nuts will be one very lucky baby. Which makes me all mushy and teary and totally girly.
So, in honor of Mixed Nuts, here's the list:
Godspeed (Sweet Dreams), Dixie Chicks
If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out, Cat Stevens
In from the
Outside, Chris Trapper
William's Doll, Alan Alda & Marlo Thomas, Free To Be...You And Me
Precious, Annie Lennox
Lullabye
(Goodnight, My Angel), Billy
Joel
You Are My
Sunshine, Carly Simon
Child of Mine, Carole King
The Long
Road, Cliff Eberhardt
(Duet With Richie Havens)
Free To Be... You
And Me, The New Seekers, Free
To Be...You And Me
Great Big
World, Pierce Pettis
When We Grow
Up, Diana Ross, Free
To Be...You And Me
Lullaby, Dixie Chicks
Child Of Mine, Emmylou Harris
Lullaby
(Group), Four Bitchin'
Babes
Joy, George Winston
Parents Are People, Harry Belafonte & Marlo Thomas, Free To Be...You & Me
Mockingbird, Carly Simon
Believe It or
Not, James Taylor
Why Walk When You
Can Fly, Mary Chapin
Carpenter
Tranquillo (Melt
My Heart), Carly Simon
Great Big
World, David Wilcox
Boy Meets Girl, Mel Brooks & Marlo
Thomas
Secret o' Life, James Taylor
I'll Take Care of
You, Dixie Chicks
You're Gonna Need
This Memory, Pierce
Pettis
Alligators All
Around, Carole King
I Don't Know Why, Shawn Colvin
Feet of a
Dancer, Maura O'Connell
I'll Stand By
You, The Pretenders
Heavenly Day, Patty Griffin
My favorite is the Maura O'Connell song, "Feet of a Dancer." The refrain goes like this: "I hope you find the feet of a dancer, I hope you can sing in the rain, I hope you find all the easy answers to your pain. And I hope you find love and affection, from someone who'll care, I hope you find all the right direction everywhere... everywhere."
I'm just remembering that I sang those words to my grandfather as he died. I hope he found the feet of a dancer. I hope I do, too. I hope my future child does.
And you, too, Mixed Nuts. Dance.
.
What songs make you think of childhood? What songs would you add for the TFC or the Mixed Nuts in your life?
You Can Always Come Home to Me by Andrew Peterson
I love you today and I love you tomorrow
I love you as deep as the sea
I love you in joy and I love you in sorrow
You can always come home to me
There once was a man who found him a treasure
Buried out under a tree
He sold all he had just to own it forever
The treasure is you, you see
I love you today and I love you tomorrow
I love you as deep as the sea
I love you in joy and I love you in sorrow
You can always come home to me
There once were some sheep safe on the farm
And one little lamb got loose
The shepherd went out and carried it home
That little lamb is you
I love you today and I love you tomorrow
I love you as deep as the sea
I love you in joy and I love you in sorrow
You can always come home to me
You should google this and listen to it because the music is beautiful.
Posted by: Chris Green | 10/27/2009 at 09:52 PM
I did-- and how right you are! It's now on my playlist!
Posted by: Sarah Fain | 10/27/2009 at 10:11 PM
Sarah Fain! I happened to catch your blog today and fully dispute your commment about not being much of a singer...I think that you're pretty darned great! And just had to share that while this brain is become a bit mushier with age, reading your post totally pulled to the front of my mind a tape you made me when we were leaving NC--yes, a mixed tape that I still have. Beautifully painted cover and great songs including Feet of a Dancer--it was so appropriate then and remains such a powerful song. In fact, realizing that I need to load it onto my IPOD as I always find myself energized and introspective when listening to it..... Thanks for the wonderful morning memory!! :-)
Posted by: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=634002336 | 10/28/2009 at 03:52 AM
This clip reminds me of my childhood. It was released the year my sister was born. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tICZJX2l0s
Posted by: Cathy | 10/28/2009 at 04:28 AM
This is written for a father and his daughter (Paul Simon's Father Daughter song), but it could equally apply to a mother and child. And I know it's corny, but it chokes me up every darn time I hear it. If I had kids, I'd hope they'd feel this loved.
Here are the lyrics:
If you ever leap awake
In the mirror of a bad dream
And for a fraction of a second
You can't remember where you are
Just open your window
And follow your memory upstream
To the meadow in the mountain
Where we counted every falling star
I believe the light that shines on you
Will shine on you forever
And though I can't guarantee
There's nothing scary hiding under your bed
I’m gonna stand guard
Like a postcard of a Golden Retriever
And never leave till I leave you
With a sweet dream in your head
I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter more than I love you
Trust your intuition
It's just like going fishing
You cast your line
And hope you'll get a bite
But you don't need to waste your time
Worrying about the market place
Try to help the human race
Struggling to survive its harshest night
I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter more than I love you
I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter more than I love you
_________
I also love Patty Griffin's Blue Sky.
Posted by: Austex | 10/28/2009 at 07:33 AM
I would put The Sweetest Gift by Sade on such an album, along with House at Pooh Corner, by Kenny Loggins (my niece loves that one). I Hope You Dance, by Lee Ann Womack is another good one, though it looks like you've got that sentiment covered with Feet of a Dancer.
Posted by: Melanie | 10/28/2009 at 07:33 AM
Someone grew up with FREE TO BE .. YOU AND ME!
The only thing I can add here is an instrumental from one of my favorite performer-composers, Scott Kirby, whose specialty is Joplin and post-ragtime music. It's called "Hymn for Sara" and he wrote it for his 3-year-old. It's a little more austere than most of your choices, but it is brilliant and even a little haunting.
It's also only 93 seconds long, so I've posted it at http://tvbarn.com/audio/hymn-for-sara.mp3 but if you like it, the whole record is amazing and it's at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/scottkirby .
Posted by: Barnhart | 10/28/2009 at 08:51 AM
GREAT songs!!! Talk about tear-jerkers! I'm adding all of them to the list once I stop crying. How could I have forgotten House at Pooh Corner?
Posted by: Sarah Fain | 10/28/2009 at 09:37 AM
I second the Paul Simon Father/Daughter song. I don't have a perfect relationship with either of my parents (who does?), but it reminds me that I am very loved.
My mom loves all sorts of music, but my childhood reminds me of her favorites: Billy Joel, Aaron Neville, Simon and Garfunkel, and Elton John.
Specific songs that remind me of childhood, and are potentially appropriate for kids:
River of Dreams - Billy Joel
The Longest Time - Billy Joel (a love song, but very sweet and half applicable to children)
Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes - Paul Simon
I Am a Rock - Simon & Garfunkel (not a good child song, per se, but I have wonderful memories screaming the chorus with my sister as a 5-year-old)
Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Elton John and Kiki Dee
You've Got a Friend - James Taylor
Other good songs:
Hey Mama - Kanye West
Underneath It All - No Doubt
Ice Cream - Sarah McLachlan
Posted by: val | 10/28/2009 at 10:19 AM
I'm so glad to hear everyone else's suggestions.
Second "I Hope You Dance" (makes me sob). Add: "It Might Be You" by Stephen Bishop - a.k.a. "Love Theme from TOOTSIE" for this line alone: "I've been saving love songs and lullabies/And there's so much more/No one's ever had before." Oh, and the last refrain: "It's you/I've been waiting for/All of my life."
Probably tipped more toward a romantic love, but I sing it to the kids.
Also: "The Very Thought of You."
Posted by: Heather | 10/28/2009 at 10:52 AM
Being the mom of Mixed Nuts, this totally makes me cry. He's pretty damn lucky to have such an awesome aunt who, by the way, IS a fabulous singer. Everyone who's heard her thinks so (although, granted, that's sadly not many of us). ANYWAY, I have to add "Forever Young" by Rod Stewart to the playlist. It was the theme song for our Father/Daughter dinner senior year in high school. Totally gets me.
Posted by: Liz | 10/28/2009 at 11:03 AM
I was pregnant the summer that Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" was popular, and loved singing it (alone in my car, of course) loud and thinking of her. She (almost 3) and I also love "Shiny, Happy People" by REM.
By the way, I'm a first-time commenter. Found your blog a couple of months ago and really enjoy it.
Posted by: michelle | 10/28/2009 at 11:45 AM
...thinking of my daughter who was on the way, not Natasha. duh.
Posted by: michelle | 10/28/2009 at 01:16 PM
I have some of the same songs! Here are more that are in my iTunes playlist for my little one (that I made before he arrived and need to update - maybe with some of your choices!). They aren't all meant exactly for parent-child, but since so many songs are about love and I love him so dearly, I can make them fit. :-)
To Make You Feel My Love - Garth Brooks
Power of Two - Indigo Girls
Over the Rainbow - Israel Kamikawwiwo'ole
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - James Taylor
Loves Me Like a Rock - Paul Simon
Be My Baby - The Ronettes
You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
500 Miles - The Pretenders
I Got a Feeling - The Four Tops
Depend on Me - Bryan Adams
Make Me Smile - Chicago
Upside Down - Jack Johnson
Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel
This Will Be Our Year - The Zombies
Posted by: Jessica | 10/28/2009 at 01:24 PM
1) You are a great singer and a pretty good guitar player.
2) What was that game we used to play in Weldon where you kicked ass because you knew the lyrics to EVERY obscure Carly Simon song?
3) I remember when we saw Maura O'Connell together in Carrboro.
4) The song I would add to the list(s) is Georgia Rae by John Hiatt.
Posted by: steve | 10/28/2009 at 02:48 PM
Oh man, I've already gone through three tissues reading the above. I second ALL of these songs.
Putumayo has a great Sing Along album that I listen and sing along to every morning with my baby, and I have yet to get through "You Are My Sunshine" without crying.
How about The Rainbow Connection? It's such a beautiful song. Okay, naptime is over.
Posted by: K.R. | 10/28/2009 at 05:39 PM
Ok I have never commented, but this is such a fun post. Here are some songs that I loved growing up. Also, thank you for putting Joy - George Winston on the list. I love that song. It was on the promotional video for my summer camp, which I adored, and my parents often played it while cooking dinner. It always brings me to a confused state of happiness reminiscent of summers in Maine and home-cooked pasta.
Anyways, on to the songs:
- Trouble in the Fields and Ford Econoline (Nanci Griffith)
- ANY Mary Chapin Carpenter or Simon & Garfunkel
- Let the River Run (Carly Simon)
- the complete soundtrack to Secret Garden on Broadway
- thousands upon thousands of camp songs
And some songs that I hope to add:
- Indigo Girls
- Dar Williams, especially "Echoes"
- Chris Pureka, especially "Swann Song"
- all Juan Luis Guerra, which always makes me want to dance
- and Celia Cruz because she's awesome
Geez, music makes me SO nostalgic. Here's to happy listening.
Posted by: T.H. | 10/28/2009 at 06:59 PM
I used to nanny two infant twin boys, and to get them to sleep I would sing "Blue Skies" to them. It's a pretty child-friendly song! I hope that someday it becomes "my song" with my kids, that I'll sing to them each night or whenever they ask.
Posted by: Christine | 10/29/2009 at 05:32 PM
I just discovered Elizabeth Mitchell's cover of "You Are My Sunshine" (in a Hallmark e-card no less) and have been singing it with my daughter incessantly. I've also always loved "When You Say Nothing at All" (Ronan Keating) which was intended I'm sure to be a love song but makes me think of my little girl when I hear it.
By the way recently found your blog when a friend forwarded me your post on changing names...laughed all the way through and then realized that I knew you. Your mom and my dad worked together and we would have play dates occasionally. I didn't see any John Denver on your list of songs you recall from childhood but I totally remember playing on the sun porch attached to your bedroom and listening to him and singing along. :)
Posted by: Lynn | 11/04/2009 at 11:53 AM
Adele's version of Make You Feel My Love. And for some reason ... I can't stop hoping to sing The Rainbow Connection to my child. (I was in chorus when I lived overseas and we sung this song. It still makes me smile.)
Posted by: Genie | 11/05/2009 at 06:24 PM
I love The Rainbow Connection!!!
Posted by: sarahfain | 11/05/2009 at 06:30 PM
I'm so happy that there were several mentions of The Rainbow Connection - I absolutely adore that song. Here are a few songs I love to sing, because the lyrics mean something special to me from a parent's point of view, and that my 3-year old son also really enjoys hearing:
- "Baby Don't You Cry" from the movie Waitress;
- "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz
- "Three Little Birds" - both the Bob Marley original as well as a version sung by Cedella Marley on the Putumayo Kids World Playground CD. The Putumayo CDs are lots of fun - highly recommend those.
Posted by: Sonia | 11/10/2009 at 12:17 PM
oh Sarah this is such a beautiful post. I often would say to my (now ex-) husband, when I’d hear a beautiful song, “Oh I’d love to sing this to my children!”. For me the Dixie Chicks ‘Godspeed, Sweet Dreams’ is right up the top of the list, along with a whole bunch of Helen Reddy songs that were my mum’s favourite and she used to always sing to me when I was little. Is it any wonder I ended up a feminist when my mother’s lullaby to my was ‘I Am Woman’?!.
And DEFINITELY 'The Rainbow Connection'. Love that one.
‘I Hope You Dance’ would be a great lullaby. One I’d love to sing to my theoretical daughter is ‘I Like Giants’ by Kimya Dawson, a quirky little song that includes the line “Cause all girls feel too big sometimes, regardless of their size... I like giants, especially girl giants….” Such fun.
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