SING-SPIRATION

Several decades ago--my, how time flies!--we had songfests, often in churches, that we called Singspirations. We can take the name literally-they were songs, sung/played by everyone in attendance, to inspire us to greater joy, deeper faith, and a recognition that we were, indeed, blessed.

Last week here at Thursday's Child, you were treated to a somewhat somber essay on how life can go wonky on us--sometimes. I hope you grasped the idea that this wasn't a permanent state of being for me, nor was it a deep-down-dark sense of Why Bother. Nope, not at all. It was only Sometimes that some of us have to deal with the less-than-joyful.

Today we're headed up the mountain--for the past week I've been visited in the night by songs, songs, songs--upbeat, happy, good advice--you name it. So, herewith, some of my nighttime visitors:

HIGH HOPES

Written by James Van Deusen, lyrics by Sammy Cahn.

It appeared in the 1959 film A Hole in the Head, sung by Frank Sinatra and child actor Eddie Hodges. The song won an Oscar.

The upbeat message: "Everyone knows an ant can't move a rubber tree plant, but he has High Hopes, high apple-pie-in-the-sky hopes . . ." And at the end of each verse, yep, there goes another rubber tree plant.

I especially like the line "Everyone knows . . . ." If we let ourselves believe what everybody "knows" then we may be  setting ourselves up to fail. But if we ignore the everybodies--who knows? We might do fabulous things!

KEEP YOUR SUNNYSIDE UP

Lyrics by Johnny Hamp

"Keep your sunnyside up, hide the side that gets blue." And the positive spin: "If you have nine sons in a row, baseball teams make money, you know!"

I don't know about this one--maybe it's not always a good idea to hide the side that gets blue. I mean--if you're having a bad day, it might be healthier to acknowledge it. You don't have to shove it in people's faces, but I can tell you from experience, people who try too hard to be cheerful all the time come across as fake.

WHISTLE A HAPPY TUNE

From the 1956 film The King and I - written by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Sung by the female lead (played by Deborah Kerr) who is explaining to a young boy that if you whistle a happy tune, you can fool other people into thinking you're not afraid--and you just might fool yourself as well. Hmm, fooling yourself--maybe it was just to get the rhyme. Think about it--there's afraid and not afraid. I've always found it hard to pretend I'm not afraid. I'll have to think about that one some more.

WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK

From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Written by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey. This was a 1937 animated fantasy film. It's the only one outside the 1950s era.

The message sounds like something my mother would've said: If you emphasize the fun rather than the monotony of a task, it'll go faster. (Worth a try).

YOU GOTTA HAVE HEART

From the 1955 film Damn Yankees. Conflicting attribution given: written either by Adler and Ross or Style and Cahn. But the message is the same: Whatever the odds are that you're a loser, never mind that, just remember, you got heart. And keep on keepin' on!

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And we can't leave without mentioning Bing and Rosemary singing "Count Your Blessings." White Christmas, 1954.

Best advice I've found for insomnia: "If you're worried and you can't sleep, just count your blessings instead of sheep, and you'll go to sleep, counting your blessings." Thank you, Irving Berlin--better than a sleeping pill any night.

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Until I did the research, I hadn't remembered all those songs came from the 1950s. And there was probably a good reason for that timing: We had been through World War II--we were in or just getting out of Korea--the Cold War was constantly in the news--America was trying to move on. What better way to encourage our can-do attitude than putting those songs in films that were popular.

Yes, we were a generation that looked for a happy ending. Might not always get it, right? But looking for it and striving for good things--that's not a bad way to live.

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Hope you have your "happy songs," gleaned from years of listening to records and radio (remember those?); watching movies (now available for free on some channels); and maybe working with groups that like to sing.

Till next time, whistle a tune, or hum if you can't whistle, or sing if that's your thing . . . make a joyful noise! 

Blessings,

Thursday's Child