If Whizz and Mavis want to get me singing then all they need to do is whistle the first line of a song and almost immediately and totally unconsciously I will start singing my socks off. This seems to amuse them, and I tolerate their ridicule. Not that Mavis wants me to sing when I want to sing because apparently I am too embarrassingly loud and enthusiastic.
Asked what type of music I like, I will often respond, “The kind I can sing along to”; not a well recognised genre. Sadly, I find it really difficult to still my vocal chords when the radio is on. The theme tune to the Archers sets me off in a trice, most tunes do really although I have a bit of trouble with The Minute Waltz.
Mavis and I love musical theatre and then, to my own embarrassment, I have to try really hard not to sing along – and occasionally I fail, earning a sharp shove in the side.
A few spoken words can set me off, for example Whizz might ask “What shall I do with…” and quick as a flash I’ll sing,
“The drunken sailor.”
There are a couple of songs that pop into my head on particular occasions – it’s rather sad really. If we are expecting family members for afternoon tea I find the words of If I Knew you were Coming I’d have Baked a Cake, going round in my head followed by the irritable opinion that it should be If I’d Known you were Coming; two obsessions, singing and writing converging in an ever running circle.
The other song comes up while I am emptying the cutlery basket after the dishwasher has finished. The chore is tedious so I play a little game – I know, it is pathetic isn’t it? I pick out all the knives trying not to miss a knife before going on to the forks, then the spoons. As I do this I am singing Oh a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down. I can’t help it.
Is this interesting? Probably not but I’ve just emptied the dishwasher and Mary Poppins needs to be throttled!
3 Responses
I can’t think where you got this annoying/enjoyable habit from.
I hadn’t checked your site for about a week, and suddenly there were numerous posts. All good stuff.
Dad xxx
Hi Sue,
I like the idea of singling to make tedious tasks less tiresome. It would be interesting to see the expression on your face. Music, and more particularly singing, is good for us. Humans have participated since the earliest times. I know what you mean about tunes popping into your head. The same thing happens to me–but I only sing them internally. Not a sound passes my lips. I’ll take your lead and let my joy out.
Hi Francene,
The expression on my face is probably an absent one. Don’t you find you live in your head most of the time when you are creative?