How Did You Get Engaged?

One of my favorite questions to ask couples is, "How did you meet?" One of my other favorite questions is, "How did you get engaged?" (if in fact the couple is engaged or married). I love it when the couples tell me their stories, and try not to get too dejected when the answer is, "None of your business" or "It's private!"

Minh Le of Bottom Shelf Books has just gotten engaged to his long-time girlfriend Aimee, and he spills the storytelling beans here. Mazel tov, Minh. Just you wait until you find out that all your blogfriends are planning to hide behind the trees on your wedding day and jump out to surprise you with silly-string and confetti. It's going to be a blast.

I invite the rest of you to share your engagement stories today's comments section. Bede's and my official engagement was bittersweet, as he had planned to propose to me on the Victoria Clipper precisely a year after we'd started dating. However, when my grandfather went into the hospital, he rushed to get the engagement ring early so that I could show it my grandfather before my grandfather died. (I had said I didn't need an engagement ring, but when I got it, of course I loved it.) One of the last things my grandpa said before he died was, "Give Orpha [my grandmother] a great-grandchild." Thankfully, I delivered.

Next I'll Be Doing Jingles For the Company...

Pictured: the Farida A-22CE Electro-Acoustic Guitar

Someone came to my website looking for "Farida guitars home page." The top hit for that search is a guitar company in the UK: http://www.faridaguitars.co.uk/

This guitar has my name stamped on the headstock:


When I sent this photo to my mom, she thought I had photoshopped it.

Obviously, now I need to plan a trip to the UK in order to test it out. :)

Witty Responses from the Crowd, Please (MotherReader, I'm Looking At You)

At my Halloween party gig yesterday, I had the kids jumping and dancing to "There Ain't No Bugs On Me." After it was over, they still seemed as if they needed to get some of their wiggles out, so I said, "I'm going to play another dance song."

One child said, "No way! Not another dance song!" Other kids who had found themselves perfectly happy dancing soon took up the cry. I replied, "It's fine. Those of you who don't want to dance can clip-clop and trot like horses," and launched into "Hop Up Ladies." Still, a bunch of the children gravitated away from the program toward the whizzing, beeping electronic train-set. Some of the adults herded the children back toward the stories, but I found myself wishing I could channel MotherReader's snappy on-the-spot wit instead of my more delayed "I should have said this..." ruminations later on.

So my question to you is, what are some of your snappy answers to inconvenient comments and questions? I know there are those of you who would respond with humorously offensive answers (or at least claim to do so!), and yes, I will laugh at your responses. However, I'm also looking for actively helpful witty lines that command respect and awe. Here are some examples of things I might hear in the course of my career:

1)I don't WANNA 'nother story!
2)Are you done yet?
3)(Grownup interrupts the story to quiz the children on what they just heard)
4)Oh no, not a song!
5)This is for babies! I wanna play video games instead!
6)Is it my turn to tell a story yet? (My standard answer is "It's your turn to listen right now.")
7){Child blurts out the punchline to a surprise ending}

I'll let you know what I would say in each of these cases, but I want to know what you, my dear readers, would say. Or wish you would say.

Three Gig Storytelling Performance Wrap-Up

The nocturnal chicken is a rare and musical species
You can find my write-up of yesterday's three-gig day at my Seattle Storyteller website. In that post, you will find out why I have a picture of nocturnal chickens. 02/11/08 My new website is about to go live, so all the former links will be null. Here is what I wrote:

Yesterday, I performed at two birthday parties and one Halloween party. This was the first time I'd ever had three performances in one day. I had a good time at all of the gigs. Here are some of the highlights:

*At one point during the first party, the 3 year old birthday girl told she had a guitar. I replied, "I'd love to hear you play it after I'm done." She immediately jumped up, ran into the other room, and brought back her little guitar. When one is three years old, there is no concept of "the future." All important time is now time.

*After the first party, the grandmother asked if the birthday girl could keep that day's rendition of Little Monkey Face. It was the first time anyone had ever asked to keep the drawing, and I signed and dated it for the birthday girl. I plan to leave future drawings with the birthday children.

*The second party had two birthday girls: a three year old and a five year old. The children laughed at the rhymes for "Jenny Jenkins," which was gratifying on the performer's end. I can do the same song or story dozens of times, but it's important to have the humility to remember that each group of children is different. What may resonate with one group could fall flat with another.

*Toward the end of the second party, I played Nancy Stewart's song "Nocturnal Animals" for the first time. I had made flannel-board creatures specifically for the song, and brought them out. After the song was over, one of the children said, "I really liked that song!" Another child said the same thing when I ended the storytime with Robert Louis Stevenson's poem "The Swing" (music composed by me).

*At both of the birthday parties, I overheard grownups say, "This was as much fun for the adults as it was for the kids." I really appreciated hearing that. I hope everyone takes the stories and songs they enjoyed and continue the oral tradition of passing them along to other people. One of the finger-plays I did twice at each party was "This is the Key to the Kingdom." There are a number of variations on the story (and you should feel free to modify it as you like), but the version I learned from Jane Cobb's What'll I Do With the Baby-o?.

*When I showed up for the Halloween party in the evening, I was greeted by older children wearing a variety of glittery and spooky costumes. The host had billed me as a "spooky storyteller," and the lighting was appropriately dim. I realized immediately that the majority of my props would not show up well in mood-light, and just brought out my guitar. I introduced the Halloween version of "The Green Grass Grows All Around" ("the pumpkins grew all around, all around...") and the children said, "We know this song!" They sang along with it perfectly on cue. I told some slightly shivery stories like Betty Lehrman's "The Graveyard Voice" and Margaret Read MacDonald's "The Gunniwolf" (my storytelling professor told me, "Your version is not for the littlest ones). What I had not expected was for the children to become really involved with "Nocturnal Animals." Not only did they have accurate ideas for the animals' sounds, but they acted out motions they'd made up themselves: in addition to owls, bats and cats, we had alligators, moles, raccoons and possums. One child insisted that a chicken was a night-time creature!

I'm performing at another Halloween party this afternoon. This time, the age range is among preschoolers and kindergarteners. My daughter will be one of them.

Riddleburger's Pumpkin Tutorial

Sam Riddleburger and Cece Bell have the definitive tutorial on how to carve pumpkins. Sam says, "People keep bumping into my site looking for templates. People, templates stink. Templates are only for people who lack confidence in their own creativity. This lesson will empower you to make your OWN pumpkin."

I for one lack confidence in my own creativity when it comes to pumpkin-carving. Then again, the closest I've come to carving a pumpkin has been this. I'm a paper-person. As Carl Sandburg says, "Paper people like to meet other paper people."


Will we? Won't we?

Nocturnal animals all about...

I made some felt-board animals to use with Nancy Stewart's song Nocturnal Animals:

On a moonlit night when the stars come out
There are nocturnal animals all about
Whoo, whoo, what do I see
A wise old owl looking at me.

Despite its legginess, I added a cricket, but left out other nocturnal animals like cuttlefish, tasmanian devils, tarantualas, skunks and vinegarroons. Did you know that crickets are nocturnal (active during the night) while grasshoppers are diurnal (active during the day)? I didn't. Also, there are animals that are neither strictly nocturnal nor diurnal, but crepuscular, i.e. primarily active during twilight. Platypus (or platypuses), coyotes, foxes and a lot of songbirds are crepuscular, though they're often called nocturnal in casual conversation. You do have casual conversations about such matters, right? If you're a Nerdfighter, you might.

Mo Willems video interview

Check out this video interview with Mo Willems, filmed at the Bellevue Regional Library in Washington State. During the part of the video where Mo Willems is reading Knuffle Bunny Too, you'll see that the second person from the left in the front row is wearing a green jacket. Friends, that's my green jacket. The little head in front of me is not Lucia, though. She was in school. Mo autographed I am Invited to a Party! for her.

Enough Scariness Already

Adrienne of WATAT asks, Why is Everything So Scary? and lists some book suggestions for children who are "sick and tired of being scared." Sign me up, too, please. I think the dripping fangs, glow-in-the-dark face makeup and ghastly should be donned in defiance of the scary forces that be (whether they are otherworldly ghouls or all-too-worldly human predators), not to scare our friends. Once, I hid behind the door of one of my housemates with the idea that it would be funny to jump out and scare her. I snickered to myself as she came up the steps. Then, as she began to enter the room, I decided it wasn't that funny anymore. Instead of jumping out and going, "WAARRRRGH!" I giggled. She still screamed with fright. Then and there, I decided that I wanted to make people laugh instead of scream. "The Graveyard Voice" by Betty Lehrman (scroll down to item 50) is a good story for such a storytelling venture.

My Life In Music Albums, revisited

Do you remember the meme of My Life in Music Albums? Well, I've found my favorite album of 2007. It's Raising Sand, by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss and produced by T. Bone Burnett. You can find the track listing with details on who wrote what songs here. Thanks to Jules of Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast for alerting me to the album's existence three days before its release. I'm glad I didn't know about it beforehand, as I dislike having to wait for anything. Like many impatient people, I secretly suspect that people who appear to be patient are merely faking it.

I've decided to tag six people for the My Life In Music Albums meme. What you do is list your favorite album for each year of your life. You can get the Wikipedia tables of years in music to help you, but it's not all-inclusive. I tag: Tony (a.k.a. Bede), Noodle, Adrienne, Vivian, Eric and Yorkshire Pudding. Everyone tagged who actually completes this meme (as well as anyone else who wants to participate) wins a small prize. Leave your link in the comments and I'll get to work on your prize right away.

Spinning Wheel, Part V: Eric Ode

One of my favorite aspects of this children's performer interview series is discovering tiny windows into other people's life-stories. While I'm a staunch believer in appreciating artists' work independently of their personal lives, it's a bonus to talk with someone via email or (even better) in person and find out that the performer is actually someone whom I think would be good company. Eric Ode, today's featured performer, is one more person I'd like to add to the House of Glee's welcome table. Special thanks go out to Spinning Wheel alumnus Eric Herman for introducing us.

Eric Ode (pronounced oh-dee) is a singer, song-writer, author and poet based in Washington State. He has a full schedule playing concerts, creating music albums, publishing books (including his brand new cowboy poetry book, Tales of the Wild West) and leading writing workshops for children. A new studio album, "When You Smile" is planned for release really, really soon. Eric's website features games and poems like "The Ghost You Think You Saw" and "The Campfire Vampire." Eric says, "I received a fun surprise late last year when a text book company in Norway published my poem 'Cat and Mouse' in one of their grade 8 text books designed to teach Norwegian students english. The poem shares a section with Shel Silverstein and Mary Frye."

Eric's site also contains resources for teachers and scrapbooks of photos from his travels. One photo definitely missing is that of a grumpy, rained-on, deprived-of-coffee Eric Ode. I suspect that no such photo exists. It's just as well: with all of the woes of the world, it's gratifying to meet a person whose joy is contageous. If you don't believe me, just check out the video for This Song Has No Elephants. I rest my case.


Eric Ode with Spinning Wheel alumna Nancy Stewart, who is no slouch at merriment herself

*THE INTERVIEW*

Saints and Spinners: What exactly do you do for a living?

Eric Ode: I get to write and share music and poetry for children and families. That's the "short 'n sweet" response. I don't like to say that I am a children's performer as that gets everything out of focus. It's easier to think in terms of being a host, creating a time and a place where everyone is singing and laughing and enjoying themselves and each other. It probably still looks like a "performance" from the outside, but it looks much different from my own perspective. If I'm focused on my guests instead of myself I think everyone has a better time. I know I do!

S&S: How long have you been working in your chosen profession?

EO: I released my first album of children's music in 1995. You can probably guess that collection was on cassette. I didn't jump into children's music full time until 2002.

S&S: What prompted you to perform for children?

EO: I've been working with children since high school when I was leading various children's choirs at church. That's also when I started writing music. I graduated from college with my Bachelors in Education, later picking up a Masters in Educational Technology, and taught in the elementary classroom for twelve years, mostly working with fourth graders. By now, it's hard for me to imagine NOT working with kids.

S&S: Why do you continue to do it?

EO: Working with kids is absolutely the best - a privilege and a joy. There's no room for cynicism in children's music, and I really appreciate that. People say that the perfect career is where your God-given gifts and the needs of the world meet. This feels a lot like that.

S&S: Which performers are your inspirations for your work?

EO: That's a terribly difficult question. Many are not performers in the traditional sense. When it comes to song writing, I'm a big fan of Joe Raposo and Jeff Moss, the original Sesame Street songwriting team. Going back to the "host" analogy, Johnny Carson was so successful because he put his guests at ease. He played with them and he let them shine. I've seen Fred Penner live, and he seems to genuinely enjoy what he's doing. You can't fake that.

S&S: What are some of the things you enjoy doing outside of your profession?

EO: I love to travel with my wife and kids. That can mean within the state or well outside. And I certainly enjoy reading - a lot of anything but often biographies of people I admire. I'm in the middle of another book on Walt Disney (I've gone through a couple) as well as another on the Beatles.

S&S: What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?

EO: A few months ago, Meadowbrook Press released my first "solo" book of poetry for kids - Tall Tales of the Wild West (And a Few Short Ones). It's a collection of humorous cowboy poems. What most people don't know is that I am very allergic to horses!

S&S: Was there ever a time when your audience surprised you? What happened?

EO: My audience constantly surprises and encourages me. A few times I've had little boys turn up to a program with their own guitar in hand. One even wore a modified headset microphone similar to the one I use in concert.


Eric Ode in concert

S&S: What’s in heavy rotation on your stereo/iPod lately?

EO: Stevie Wonder, Lyle Lovett, Fountains of Wayne, Corinne Bailey Rae, Counting Crows...

S&S: If you could headline a festival with three other performers, who would they be?

EO: Three? Man, let me just hang out on stage with Paul Williams. Let me sing a bit on backing vocals and provide a little keyboard work. I promise to not get in the way. That guy floors me. Any songwriter who has written for everyone from Elvis to the Dixie Chicks to the Muppets while slipping in as many movie rolls as he has gets my vote as the coolest thing on wheels!

S&S: What’s the song or story that never gets old for you?

During the summer and through October, I provide several shows a day at Remlinger Farms Family Fun Park in Carnation, WA. That means I'm sharing many of the same songs a dozen or more times a week. But as long as I'm writing new material and throwing in a newer song now and again - something fresh that I'm really excited about - it keeps the rest fun as well.

The Pivot Questionnaire is a set of questions popularized on “The Actor’s Studio" and introduced to me through Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. I ask you now:

What is your favorite word?
Yes

What is your least favorite word?
Can't (That's a contraction. Does it still count?)

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Rain, a good cup of coffee, and a little peace and quiet.

What turns you off?
Details.

What is your favorite curse word? (optional)
Holy cats! (It's actually a very interchangeable sort of phrase and works nicely as a more positive interjection.)

What sound or noise do you love?
If I'm at home in the afternoon, I can just make out the sounds of the kids on the elementary school playground a few blocks away. And at night, if the window's open, we can hear the trains in the valley. Those sounds make me smile.

What sound or noise do you hate?
Any noise my car makes but that it's not suppose to make.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
I'd like to run a little coffee shop - someplace with excellent baked goods and a jazz trio in the corner.

What profession would you not like to do?
Taxi driver. Heavy traffic makes me nuts after a while.

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
I used to worry that God had a very specific plan for each person and that we either got it right or got it wrong. I was afraid of standing before the throne and hearing God say something like, "Well, Eric, that children's music thing you had going... that was kind of cool. But it's not quite what I had in mind." Anymore I recognize that we're given opportunities every minute of every day, and all we can do is keep trying to do the right thing. I want to hear God say, "Well done," but I'm never going to get there through my own actions. Grace is a mighty good thing!

Noodle's Questions

Noodle of Thoughts From My Noodle (not to be confused with the lead guitarist of Gorillaz) sent me some interview questions about storytelling, librarianship, and Brad the Gorilla. Here they are:

What made you decide to take the leap from children's librarian to storyteller?

It wasn’t so much a leap as it was a shuffle to the side. I took a storytelling class in graduate school, and started telling stories immediately with The New York Public Library. NYPL has a long, rich history of storytelling (the annual Storytelling Symposium, storytelling programs at the Hans Christian Andersen statue in Central Park, and monthly storytelling programs run by children’s librarians in the branches), and I knew that I was starting in the right place as a newly-minted librarian. However, it’s worth noting that even back then the parts of librarianship that made me come alive involved story-centered programming. In the year between college and graduate school, I worked in a daycare center for children of homeless parents as a full-time volunteer. The group of children I worked with specifically were in the 1-3 year range, and that experience was invaluable for toddler programs later on.

Do you find that you are expanding your storytelling to accommodate to older ages as your daughter grows up?

I’m actually going backwards in age. The stories I first learned were for older children and teenagers, and as the years passed, I looked for stories to appeal to younger and younger ages. Now that my daughter is four years old, I’m finally discovering the stories for babies! That said, it is now easier to practice stories with my daughter in the room.

What has been your worst experience in your storytelling career? What did you learn from it?

It was my own fault, really.

I had been working professionally as librarian for a year, and had just started a short stint at a new library branch covering for another librarian. The majority of the school visits were so much fun, and I didn’t think much of the matter when someone ran up to me after lunch with a sticky-note filled with lists of mammals and said, “There’s a teacher who wants to come in on this day and wants you to pull books off the shelf for all of these animals.”

I lost track of that sticky-note. The day came when the first grade teacher showed up with her class, and I ushered them into the story-time room. “We’re just here to research animals,” she told me. “Okay, I replied, my mind beginning to make the connection. “I’ll just tell you a couple of stories and bring you out into the children’s room. I began to tell my first story, but the adrenaline from realizing that I hadn’t planned things right kicked in too fast. The teacher interrupted me. “These are young children,” she told me, “You will have to speak more slowly.” Graciously, I stopped, then continued. After two shorts stories, I brought the children out into the room with the books, and began to pull books about specific mammals off the shelf for the children. “Did you get my message about the animals?” the teacher asked. “Yes,” I replied. Even though I embarrassed that I hadn’t been prepared, I felt cross. I thought, “Why did she even bother bringing in the children and setting up a specific class visit?”

What I learned:
1) Not everyone wants what I think they want. When I first got the message, I should have called the teacher back to find out if an official class visit was what she had really wanted rather than just a book pick-up.
2) Don’t punish the children just because I’m peeved with the adults.

Where and why did you begin your library career? How did it evolve over the years and why?

I started out as a page (i.e. shelver of books, periodicals and media materials) my junior year of college, and worked in the circulation department in graduate school (including interlibrary loans) before getting my library degree in Washington D.C. and heading out to New York. I worked 27 months at NYPL and 17 months with King County Library System. I still wonder whether or not it was the wise choice to leave my 30 hour library job in order to have a more flexible schedule and pursue creative outlets. At the time, it seemed brave (albeit scary) to leave my job, but that was with the idea that I’d become a raging success. I’ve noticed that when people make unconventional choices that do work out, everyone says, “Good job! We were behind you all the time! We always said you could do it!” but when the choices don’t work out as planned, then there are mutterings of, “Well, that certainly wasn’t the smart thing to do.”

A few weeks ago, HipWriterMama posted a link to a poem by Marge Piercy called, “For the Young Who Want To.” Here is the first stanza:

Talent is what they say
you have after the novel
is published and favorably
reviewed. Beforehand what
you have is a tedious
delusion, a hobby like knitting.

The last stanza hits home:

The real writer is one
who really writes. Talent
is an invention like phlogiston
after the fact of fire.
Work is its own cure. You have to
like it better than being loved.

For “loved,” I interpret as “other people’s approval.” Unfortunately, other people’s approval is what ultimately drives getting paid for one’s work, but that’s just the way it goes, whether it’s an audition or an interview. I have kept myself awake at night thinking of all of the things I should have done. It’s most unproductive. I try to think of stories and songs instead.

And finally . . . Is Brad the Gorilla ever going to move out?

That’s a good question. He certainly isn’t contributing to the monthly mortgage payments. However, Brad does drive away the door-to-door salespeople by shouting at them and throwing overripe bananas. You just can't pay enough for that kind of service.

What'll I Do With the Baby-o?

I just received my copy of What'll I Do With the Baby-o? Nursery Rhymes, Songs, and Stories for Babies, by Jane Cobb, published by Black Sheep Press in Canada. Readers who are children's librarians probably recognize Jane Cobb's name through the perennial staple of program-preparation, I'm a Little Teapot! Presenting Preschool Storytime.

Cobb is currently the Coordinator of Parent-Child Mother Goose Programs for Vancouver Public Library and has worked as a children's librarian for 25 years. Her understanding for what works with both parents and children shines through in this incredible resource for children's librarians, early childhood teachers, parents wishing to learn more songs and rhymes for babies, as well as performers who want to be effective in welcoming the youngest children into the storytelling fold.

Cobb's book comes with a compact disc of 36 songs and rhymes for tunes not easily found through other recordings. Those who have had to hunt down recordings and beg colleagues to sing songs repeatedly so they could learn them (including bribing them with chocolate to sing the songs over voicemail so that the songs could be replayed) will particularly appreciate this resource. I was tickled to find not only simple versions of folktales I like to tell, but a version of a story I learned from my mother through storytimes called "Mr. Wiggle and Mr. Waggle" (who are Miss Cat and Miss Dog in our versions). This is a story told with two thumbs representing the two characters, and the whole audience gets involved with the characters going up the hill and down the hill and up the hill and down the hill etc. to visit each other.

A traditional story chant done with hand and arm actions that I'm eager to learn is called "This is the Key to the Kingdom":

This is the key to the kingdom.
And in the kingdom there is a town,
And in the town there is a hill,
And on the hill there is a street,
And on the street there is a house,
And in the house there is a room.
And in the room there is a bed,
And on the bed there is a basket,
And in the basket there is a blanket,
And under the blanket there is a BABY!

Then, do the whole thing backwards:

Baby under the blanket,
Blanket in the basket,
Basket on the bed,
Bed in the room,
Room in the house,
House on the street,
Street on the hill,
Hill in the town,
Town in the kingdom,
And THIS is the key to the kingdom.

Update: Jane Cobb is right-- this little play is much easier to remember than you might think. It took me three tries before I got it down just right.

What'll I Do With the Baby-o? also has lists of print and audio resources, sample 60 and 30 minute programs, and indexes to songs and rhymes by type (i.e. action rhymes, circle games, rhymes in other languages) and first line, plus the songs recorded on the accompanying compact disc. While the price-tag may be a jolt for some ($39.95 in both Canadian and US dollars, plus shipping), keep in mind that this is a book published by a small press. For me, a storyteller who performs for young children all the time, it's an investment well-spent.

Thanks go to Margaret Read MacDonald, who recommended this book in the last Seattle Storytellers Guild newsletter.

Seven Random Song Memories

In lieu of one song of the week, I'm going to give you at least seven. Noodle of Thoughts From My Noodle tagged me with a meme to list Seven Definitely Random, Possibly Odd, Things About Me. I'm supposed to tag seven more people, but only if you read this and you want to participate in the meme should you consider yourself tagged. I've decided to keep the meme S & S blog-related, so here are

Seven Definitely Random, Possibly Odd, Things About Me in Relation to Songs

1) When my parents put me to bed in my crib, I would sometimes keep myself awake by holding up my finger in front of me. My father was concerned about this behavior and didn't make the connection to Woody Guthrie's Put Your Finger in the Air, which was the song going through my head:

Put your finger in the air, in the air.
Put your finger in the air, in the air.
Put your finger in the air, and hold it right up there.
Put your finger in the air, in the air.

2) For the first part of my life, my father was a coal-miner in MacDowell County, West Virginia. He played a lot of music in our home, and one of the songs I often heard was Merle Travis' song about coal-miners called Dark as a Dungeon. These are the lines that stuck out for me:

Oh when I am dead and the ages shall roll
My body will blacken and turn into coal
Then I'll look from the door of my heavenly home
And pity the miner a-digging my bones

Yeah, even then, I was brooding about death.

3) When I was eight years old, the soundtrack for Disney's Songs from the Jungle Book and Other Jungle Favorites was one of my favorite records. The last song on the album was Civilization (Bongo, Bongo, Bongo). My father then introduced me to the version with the Andrews Sisters and Danny Kaye. For awhile, I listened to both recordings every day. If you follow the link, you will see just how horrid the lyrics are. I really don't get it why I liked the song so much. In fact, I'm a little embarrassed. However, I'm not as embarrassed as I would be if I confessed some of my other past music tastes (see #6)....

4) Flash-forward six years: After remembering how much I enjoyed "I Love Rock and Roll," I bought Joan Jett's album Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth. As Cherry Bomb, the first song, played over the speakers, I realized something: I was really, really angry with everything. In retrospect, it's an odd song to inspire a grouchy teenager when you consider that the lyrics are more in the vein of "I'm your hootchy-mama so take me now"* than "rally the youth against adult oppression." I think I was reacting more to the sounds of the music than the words of the song.

*The song was originally written for Cherie Currie, the lead singer of Joan Jett's teenage band The Runaways. You can see a video of Currie tarting it up here.

5) As a teenager, the introduction and opening lines to Led Zeppelin's Over the Hills and Far Away (before Robert Plant launched into falsetto mode) was one of my favorite pieces of music of what 1970's hard rock had to offer. Listen for yourself here. The Who's Baba O'Reilly was (and still is) up there, too.

6) After my three-year hard rock and heavy-metal binge, I went on a classical music and opera kick. Unfortunately, I also delved into musicals a la Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera. Once, as I was washing dishes and listening to Eponine's death song, A Little Fall of Rain, my mother said, "You know, I actually preferred Motley Crue to this."

7)A lot of people were introduced to the Proclaimers by their song "(I'm Gonna Be) 500 Miles." I first heard about them via the swing-based I'm On My Way through two college friends. These friends performed the song for many a coffee-house before one of them split off to form Schpaklava (the best college band you've probably never heard). In recent years, this song has only been supplanted by The Sunny Side of the Street as the most effective way to get the House of Glee out the door in time.

The Purple Balloon

What Adrienne Thinks About That reviews The Purple Balloon, by Chris Raschka and addresses one of the hardest things to talk about: untimely death. Adrienne writes,

Overall, this has the hallmarks of a book for the youngest children—bold images, simple text, clear type. I think the reader can enter what’s really going on here, though, through the line, “Dying is hard work....” If you have spent any kind of time with someone who is dying, then you know that dying is hard emotionally, but work? People who are dying get angry and frustrated and sad and scared; most often, they don’t want to die. Physically, though, and, ideally, emotionally, death becomes a process of giving in to the inevitable, the soul surrendering to what the body demands. That is not work. Trying to live when one’s body is ill is work; dying isn’t. Dying is a lot of work, though, for the people who are watching and caring for the dying person—in this case, this book’s real audience, adults.

The Herman-mobile is headed your way

Hey! Eric Herman may be coming to your city. If he does, don't you want him to come to your school? Your library? Your coffee-karaoke bar? You'll be able to see his cute, cute kids and meet his brilliant wife. You might even get the entire Invisible Band to fit into your living room for a concert. I'm thinking of trying out for the Invisible Band just so I can go on the tour. Sure, the pay is stinkin' lousy, but the dress code is informal and I don't have to show up for sound-checks. Really, though, I can barely imagine all of the energy and focus it's going to take to organize this tour. Any contacts for booking performances and song writing workshops would be a big help. (I need to take one of those song-writing workshops myself, as most of my songs sound so sad, even the ones with major chords.)

I am wondering... is this venture going to be the Snail's Pace Tour? Because that would be funny.

My Mug of Blueberry Tea

Remember when I won 3rd place in the Shrinking Violet Promotions book-title contest? Here's what I won: my very own SVP mug with a photo of (shrinking) violets on one side and the quip, "Silence is often misunderstood, but never misquoted" on the other. Thank you, Robin and Mary, for the mug. It is now my new blueberry tea mug.

"What is blueberry tea?" you might ask. "Is it an herbal infusion of blueberries, or is it something more mysterious and suitable only for grownups?" If you were to guess the latter, you would be correct. Here is my favorite recipe for blueberry tea (with nary a berry in sight):

One mug of hot Earl Grey tea brewed to your specifications*
1 shot Grand Marnier
1 shot Amaretto

The resulting brew is citrus-scented and lightly sweet. It inspires me to no end. Some recipes call for Orange Pekoe tea, but that may be because of the mistaken impression that "orange" refers to the flavor of the tea instead of the size of the leaf. It's an understandable error, but someone needs to tell the marketing departments of some of these great tea empires.

If you don't have a SVP mug, the ideal way to drink blueberry tea is in a snifter like one you may have received as a wedding gift:



If you decide to drink blueberry tea from a glass drinking vessel, remember to warm up the glass first with hot tap water so you don't inadvertently shatter your Romanian snifter.

*Tea-brewing times vary according to region and person. I once lived with a friend from a little town near Cornwall who was particular that her tea not be oversteeped. I could understand that, but "oversteeped" for her was different than it was for me. A number of times, I would pour the boiling water over the tea-bag and tell her, "I just poured the water over the tea-bag." Her response was to screech, "Take it out! Take it out! It's steeped too long!"

Robert's Snow: Week 1

HipWriterMama is one of the many bloggers who has posted the schedule for bloggers highlighting illustrators who have contributed a snowflake to the Robert's Snow: for Cancer's Cure auction. Robert's Snow is a book by Grace Lin, whose husband Robert lost his life to Ewing's sarcoma. Thanks go out to Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast for organizing the bloggers to feature the illustrators on their blogs and Jen Robinson for putting the blog schedule together.

Kidfest Wrap-Up

My Kidfest gig went well, considering that the day was so lovely and sunshiney that many people wisely chose to spend their Sunday outdoors. Some friends from church showed up for the first part of my gig, for which I was grateful. I've decided that I really do need to put on a free program in the future so that more of my friends can come. A house party maybe? We'll see.

I had a good time at Kidfest yesterday. Thanks go out to everyone who phoned and sent me email wishing me good luck. Eric Herman wrote, "Break a leg next Sunday (not literally... that's more my thing...)"

(Which reminds me: Eric Herman is coming to town this week and he's coming to the House of Glee! I haven't told Lucia yet, because she'll start asking me every day whether it's time for Eric Herman to come to dinner yet, and will he juggle zucchini like Giovianni in The Clown of God... it's too much for one little girl to anticipate. So, I'll wait.)

Anyway, here is the final set-list of the stories and songs I presented:

Opening: When Ducks Get Up in the Morning
Story: Joseph the Tailor
Song: Jenny Jenkins
Story: Little Orange House
Story: The Mosquito (string story)
Song: There Ain’t No Bugs on Me
Song: Hop Up Ladies

Interlude: How Do You Like to Go Up in a Swing? (Words: Robert Louis Stevenson Music: Farida Dowler) *WORLD PREMIERE*

Opening: Little Monkey Face
Story: Almira and the Robbers
Story: The Crickets, by Arnold Lobel (with “Oh Miss Mousie” song to the tune of “Buffalo Gals”)
Story: Lazy Jack
Song: Old Joe Clark
Song: I’m a Little Scallop in a Shell (with scallop puppet)

Here's a link to view photos: Kidfest 2007

Kidfest 2007: a reminder

Remember: The storytelling component for Kidfest 2007 at the Seattle Children's Museum is on Sunday, October 14. I'm telling stories at 12 noon. They have me listed as telling stories for children "birth to three," but I'll also have stories that are appropriate for four and five year olds. Here is the complete lineup of storytellers:

10:30 am Eva Abram – African Folktales
12:00 pm Farida Dowler- Storytelling for children birth to three
1:00 pm Leslie Creed – Native American Stories
2:00 pm Clare Hodgson Meeker – Stories from Thailand
3:00 pm Lora Lue Chiorah Dye – Stories from Zimbabwe
4:00 pm Elizabeth Falconer – Japanese Folktales and Stories

Little Orange House: a Halloween Story

On October 27, I have three storytelling gigs lined up:
11:45 am-- birthday party
2:45 pm-- birthday party
6:45 pm--Halloween party

On October 28, I have one storytelling gig:
2 pm-- Halloween party

One of the stories I'll tell for both Halloween parties is The Little Orange House, by Jean Stangl. This story is particularly appropriate for you folks who work with young children in some capacity, as it is not scary in the slightest. There's a wee witch and a tiny ghost, and all they want is a cozy home for winter.

You'll need orange paper (construction paper is ideal) and a pair of scissors. Rectangular paper is recommended, but you can do just as well with square paper. Here are photos of the process: Alkelda's Little Orange House


You need to hold your paper this way or the final product will be slightly embarrassing. Believe me, I once got it wrong in front of an audience.

Song of the Week: May-Ree Mack

Today's Song of the Week offering is a quick study, as I am focusing the majority of my creative attention on getting ready for Kidfest this Sunday. The good news for you, my dear Spinnerets, is that I will share the fruits of my labors in the form of more stories, songs and resources. Keep in mind that once I had a word-pool going by which a reader would submit a word in the comments section, and then I would write a story based around it. I could do that again.

Today's song of the week is "May-Ree Mack," by Ella Jenkins. Most of you are probably familiar with the chant-rhyme Miss Mary Mack (which is another Jenkins staple). "May-Ree Mack" is Ella Jenkins' variation on a theme. To present it, the leader sings the first two lines, and the audience comes in on the "Hi-yos."

May-Ree Mack, dressed in black
Buttons all up and down her back
Hi-yo, hi-yo, hi-yo-o, hi-yo

Give me a nickel, give me a dime
See my honey baby all the time
Hi-yo, hi-yo, hi-yo-o, hi-yo

Went to the river, couldn't get across
Got in trouble with my boss
Hi-yo, hi-yo, hi-yo-o, hi-yo

Words and Music: Ella Jenkins
© 1968 Ella Jenkins (ASCAP)

Sound sample (Track 7)

Kidlitosphere yahoogroup now open

What was formerly the yahoogroup for people attending the 1st Annual Kidlitosphere Conference is now a general listserv for people who love to read, write, and blog about children's and young adult literature. If you'd like to join, write to me and then I'll send you an invitation.* The reason why I'm not posting the link to the Kidlitosphere yahoogroup is because I don't want to attract attention to spam-crawlers. I've had some experience with running listservs, and I'm pretty good about spotting membership requests from potential spammers.

There will be no Song of the Week today. I'm moving it back to Thursdays. Also, I want to give people a chance to read yesterday's interview with Recess Monkey.

*Update: Kidlitosphere is now searchable in the Yahoogroups directory. You can find the group and request to join the group. Simply follow the spam-resistant directions and I'll know you're not a scallywag... at least not of the "Get your best mortgage deals here" or "Impress her in bed!" varieties.

Spinning Wheel Part IV: Recess Monkey

Daron Henry, Drew Holloway and Jack Forman are three schoolteachers who have done what I always wanted to do with my fellow librarians: form a band. Daron plays drums, Drew plays lead guitar, and Jack plays bass guitar for Recess Monkey, a Beatles/Beach Boys/everything else-inspired band that presents original rock and roll music for children and their lucky grownups. Since Recess Monkey is a local Seattle band, I've seen publicity for their shows around town quite a bit. A month ago, Recess Monkey played at the Madrona Playfield up the street from my house as an extra incentive for the community coming together to clean up the park. (The snacks helped, too.) Before the show, I chatted with Jack for about music, storytelling, and school. About the band, Jack said, "We're friends first and foremost." I got the impression that the guys were a lot of fun to hang out with and they genuinely liked children as well. I was convinced when, later on in the show, Jack led the children in a dance around the park shelter-house during the "Monkey Bars" song.


Jack, Daron and Drew at their Madrona Playfield gig

Recess Monkey have two albums out: Recess Monkey Town, and Aminal House. Their newest album, a two-disc set called Wonderstuff, arrives October 13, with a big CD release show at the Experience Music Project on October 20. You can find their music on the Recess Monkey website, as well as CDBaby, The Land of Nod, and The AVcafe. Want to know what they sound like? Here you go (full songs, not 30 second clips).

And now, as Marti DiBergi from This is Spinal Tap would say, "Enough of my yakkin'--let's boogie!"

Recess Monkey as their alter-egos "The Traveling Wildebeests"


Saints and Spinners: What exactly do you do for a living?

Recess Monkey: Recess Monkey is the stage name for Daron Henry, Drew Holloway and Jack Forman, three Seattle teachers. We all met while teaching together at University Child Development School. Since then, Daron moved to Giddens School, but we’re all still active in the classroom. We’re excited to be part of the grassroots family-rock movement, but also we get to revel in the classes that we teach each day!

S&S: How long have you been working in your chosen professions?

RM: Between us we have 34 years of classroom experience: Daron did 29 years of that (can you tell that’s a joke when typed? We need a rim shot emoticon!).

S&S: What prompted you to perform for children?

RM: We’ve each been involved in lots of adult-based musical projects, but always wished that we could share our music with the kids that we teach. Seriously: it’s so hard to come into class and play songs from your new album, “The Seven Stages of Grief!” (We really did make that album once, in another band, The Waiting Room). Recess Monkey arose out of our desire to make music that kids and their parents would both like- it’s really taken off from that initial seed. Now kids are even helping us write.

S&S: Why do you continue to do it?

RM: It’s really cool to hear our songs being sung by kids that we haven’t met before! We just hope that these songs help kids be inspired by music as much as we are. Also, the last two albums that we’ve made were rooted in summer camps that we ran; camps where kids had an active role in writing and performing parts of each disc. We really like how transparent the process has been- real kids get to see real musicians play real songs on real instruments! In the process, we’ve been inspired to write songs that really reflect what it feels like to be young, not just our memories of it. (Daron’s over 100 years old! Ba-dum-dump).

S&S: Which performers are your inspirations for your work?

RM: We’re huge John Vanderslice fans (we’ve actually made a pact that we’ll give an audio shout-out to him on each album that we make). Of course, The Beatles. We listen to some pretty eclectic stuff and try to get nuances of it all into our songs. The new album, “Wonderstuff” has homages to The Beach Boys, Tom Waits, Spoon, Harry Nilsson, Led Zeppelin and more. Daron is also really influenced by the illusions of Doug Henning, though we haven’t yet figured out how to record this onto a CD.

S&S: What are some of the things you enjoy doing outside of your profession?

RM: Daron likes long walks with his dog KC and doing yoga. Drew is a huge listing-to-music-while-running fan. We think he’s nuts. Jack plays trombone. We’re also members of the same book club but Daron’s usually the only one who reads the book. Drew and Jack are waiting for it to come out on video.

S&S: What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?

Daron: I started college in the genetic engineering program.
Drew: I wrote a book called “Pancake Truck.”
Jack: My real name is Giles.

S&S: Was there ever a time when your audience surprised you? What happened?

RM: We played shows at a bunch of Seattle Libraries this summer. Our first one was at the Greenlake Library: at fifteen minutes before the show, there wasn’t a single person there. Next thing we knew, over 350 people had arrived- there were families literally watching through the windows from outside. We thought, "Wow, this is really taking off!" The room quickly got so hot that Jack had to run outside during “Monkey Bars” just to cool off. We met a lot of really nice people this summer and played a lot of really fun shows. Another big highlight was the Fremont Fair: we had a lot of twenty-somethings rocking out every bit as hard as the kids. So cool to see that some good music knows no age demographic!

S&S: What’s in heavy rotation on your stereo/iPod lately?

Daron: Journey, John Vanderslice, Philip Glass, Arcade Fire
Drew: The Smiths, Neko Case, Guided by Voices
Jack: Belle & Sebastian, Elliott Smith, Raffi

S&S: If you could headline a festival with three other performers, who would they be?

Daron: Dan Zanes
Drew: Fozzie Bear (maybe our opening act?)
Jack: Paul McCartney

S&S: What is the song that never gets old for you?

RM: Funny story. We've been consistently running with the joke about how our song Mercado (off of our first album, Welcome to Monkey Town) is Drew's end-all be-all favorite song in the whole world. Drew likes the song but, in actuality, it's really not his favorite. We have a lot of fun with this on stage- Daron and Jack trying to get the audience to request the song because didn't they know that Drew loves it so much, Drew trying to weasel out of playing it while still pretending to love the song. It's really fun- like a chess game! You never know what's going to happen; I think we're about 50/50 in terms of shows that we play it and those that we don't... but it never gets old!

The Pivot Questionnaire is a set of questions popularized on “The Actor’s Studio" and introduced to me through Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. I asked the band the questions, but they responded, "Recess Monkey’s manager, Mayor Monkey, demanded requested that he be allowed to answer these questions on behalf of the band– which usually means that he’ll answer them however he pleases. He’s known to speak with a rather loud voice- please excuse the yelling."

Plug your ears and cover your eyes. Here's the Pivot Questionnaire of Mayor Monkey:



What is your favorite word?
“OFFSHOREACCOUNTS!” (Is that one word?)

What is your least favorite word?
“RECOUNT!”

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
“FINANCES!”

What turns you off?
“BEING THROWN AROUND AT RECESS MONKEY SHOWS”

What is your favorite curse word? (optional)
“DEBT!”

What sound or noise do you love?
“KA-CHING!”

What sound or noise do you hate?
“ANYTHING DREW, DARON OR JACK SAYS TO ME ABOUT GETTING PAID.”

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
“SANDWICHES!”

What profession would you not like to do?
“BAND MANAGER!”

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
[Editor's note: At this point, I had to turn down this next exchange, as there were three people shouting.]

God: Mayor Monkey, I'd like you to meet Warren Buffet. Warren Buffet, meet the smartest rock and roll manager of all time!

Warren Buffet: Pleased to meet you,Mayor Monkey, I'm Warren Buffet. But you can call me Warry.

Mayor Monkey: WELL HELLO, WARRY, CALL ME MAYMO!

WB: Maymo, What's your thinking about NASDAQ?

MM: I THINK THEY TASTE GREAT, WITH CRACKERS!

WB: Oh Maymo, you slay me!

God: And so ends another episode of PEARLY GATES. Next weeek: Minnie Pearl meets Robert Gates!

[Editor's note: You may now safely remove your earmuffs and sunglasses.]

***
Related links:
*Music review by Children's Music That Rocks
*Two music reviews by Zooglobble: Aminal House and Welcome to Monkey Town

Six posts from the past two months

Lucia contemplating the beginning of Autumn

Today I've decided to round up my favorite posts written over the past two months. Other bloggers have reported that readership of their posts has flagged. I've certainly noticed it on my end. I figure that if I list the high-points of the past two months, I will have displayed the posts I want read most without anyone having to slog through everything to find the best bits. I invite others to do the same.

In reverse order of publication:

* Lullabies

*Nancy Stewart interview

*Michaelmas

*Eric Herman interview

*My daughter the storyteller

*My automobile mishap

Storyteller blogger

Sean Buvala, the director of Storyteller.net, has a blog of his own, called A Quarter for a Tale. Whether or not one is in the storytelling business, there is a lot one can learn from the guy. As a gamer and storyteller in his own right, Bede would probably be interested in Buvala's workshop on storytelling and gaming. Buvala probably knows about Universalis, a storytelling game that even non-gamers like myself can enjoy. For those of you who don't remember, here is the run-down of a Universalis game I played years ago that had the themes of Jane Austen mixed with science-fiction: Space and Spaceability. As we discovered, “It is a truth universally acknowledged that an advanced ape in possession of a large flotilla must be in want of a planet.”

Blunt advice and performance nightmares

Two items that may be of interest to you:

Quick, Blunt Advice for Those Who are Starting Out on the Road to New, posted on Storyteller.net, by K. Sean Buvala

There are a couple of points I think are up for debate. Number 4: "Use both sides of your business card." I leave the back of my business card blank so I can write down my cell-phone number, blog website, recommended book, or even paste an address label). Also, #6: "Don’t send Emails to a potential client unless they have asked you first." I've had some discussion with my colleagues about this, and the general consensus was "It depends." On the one hand, it's a bad idea to harvest email addresses, but on the other hand, email is sometimes a viable alternative to using the telephone. I've emailed a potential client of a large organization before, and I don't know whether or not the silence is because of the email or because the potential client just wasn't interested. The other potential client of the other large organization didn't answer me either, and I had sent out just a letter with a follow-up phone message. (My dream is that someday I'll become well-known enough that these very clients will contact me, and think they're the ones who approached me first!)

The other item on Storyteller.net that I found both amusing and disconcerting is Linda Gorham's Performance Nightmares: I wish I... Some highlights:

I wish I had asked...
*Will the seniors be expecting Bingo?
*Will a helicopter be landing next to me during my show?
*Is the highway exit still there?

I should have realized...
*That when they told me they would pay me nothing, they would treat me like nothing.
*That teenagers who are not used to sitting on the floor, wouldn’t like any of my stories if I took away their chairs.
*That the venue would be hard to find if I left the directions home.

I wish I had stipulated ...
*That sending me an aerial view of the library would not be very helpful.
*That Santa, Captain Underpants, Dora the Explorer and a host of other characters would not be allowed to enter the room until after my show.
*That marshmallows would not be roasted during my ghost story show.


Related post: Seven Tips for Successful Storytelling Programs

12:57 pm Update: Eric Herman wrote an in-depth, thoughtful response to this post:

Good article. Thanks for sharing that, Alkelda. But I don't entirely agree with the e-mail thing, either. That's been my first means of contact for almost all of my booking inquiries.

The way I see it is, what's more intrusive, sending an e-mail or calling? People can read and answer e-mail at their convenience, but a phone call has much more of a chance of interrupting someone at a bad time. The downside of e-mail is that you don't know for sure that someone has received it or if that e-mail address isn't one that person checks regularly, so you may have to follow up again before you get a response. But don't assume that no response equals a negative response. If a person hasn't responded by e-mail after a couple tries, then maybe I'll call them if it's something important to me.

I think e-mail has another advantage in that you can include a direct link to your website and your contact information, etc., whereas the person who you called who came rushing from the bathroom might have to scramble for a Post-It note to get your information down, only to lose it later.

The exception, and possibly what the author's concern was about, is to be careful about sending out a blanket e-mail to many different people at once, which can seem impersonal, and is very bad netiquette if you don't BCC: everybody or don't use a mail client that can merge addresses properly.

Also, there's a big difference between "harvesting" e-mails from websites to send junk spam to people, and gathering e-mail contacts for people who you have a very legitimate reason to contact if they are in a position to book performances and you are a performer. Why else would organizations put those people's e-mail addresses on their websites, if not so people with legitimate reasons to contact them can do so?

But anyway, I love those nightmare stories, and a few of them would have made it on my list, too! :o)

Sunday, October 7, 2007 update: Sean Buvala, the author of the first article, and storytelling blogger to boot, responds:

Well, let's walk through a few of those points. Why isn't all that handwritten information on your business card in the first place. If you think someone might use your contact info, put it on the card. More importantly, the point regarding having material on the back of the card is to establish the answer to the question of "niche" for your clients. We cover this in depth in the "Outside In Storytelling Boot Camp" we're doing this February. www.outsideinstorytelling.com Few tellers are aware of the true need for this process of establishing niche.

Email use is an issue for everyone and there are a wide variety of answers to this. Yes, Email is the method of contact that is preferred for anyone you already have a relationship with. No question about it. You as a performer need to make it a focus and our charge to collect Emails from everyone you contact. I have thousands of folks on my mailing list and they all chose to be there. I am glad to hear that we agree on the farming issue. It's a sure fire way to tick-off everyone.

Another thought is the concept of you as an artist going after bookings instead of having them come to you. It's common to mistake advertising for marketing. Marketing is relationship, advertising is intrusive. Most of my clients find me instead of me going after them.

In general, you will create more angry people by sending UCE (unsolicited commercial email) to them than making that phone call. It doesn't matter how pure our intentions are- Email is still seen as highly personal and should only be used after the relationship is established. Faxes went that way and eventually were regulated. I see that happening in Email, too, if we're not scrupulous.

Overall, great set of responses and postings. Keep up the good work! Come get your page at Storyteller.net.

Lull in comments

Two blog posts, two days, no comments. Hiss boo, sulk.

I miss you. I hope you're reading anyway. I'm reading your blogs on my Google Reader, at any rate, and trying to leave at least one comment for each one so that you know I've visited. How's that for a bit of guilt-nudging?

Next week, I plan to feature Recess Monkey on Spinning Wheel. You don't want to miss Recess Monkey. Trust me.

Swampland Lullaby-- revised

Last Friday, when I posted an early version of Swampland Lullaby to the tune of Toora Loora Looral (written by James Royce Shannon and written in 1913, so it's definitely in the public domain), Kelly Fineman said in the comments, "What is it with lullabies and death? Does it have to do with the old belief that sleep was a form of death, or what? (It's not just this one, that's for sure, that talks about death or dying -- think of rock-a-bye baby!)"

I started looking at my collection of lullabies, and noted, "Hmmm, death, death (hunting), pecking out of the eyes, sorrow, loss, easily-breakable toys, and of course, bed-gear that should have been on a national recall list." On the other hand, there's The Riddle Song, Lavender's Blue, and Sleep, Baby, Sleep, and Over in the Meadow, so all is not melancholy in the realm of lullabies. Update: here is Langston Hughes' Lullaby (For a Black Mother), courtesty of A Wrung Sponge.

My "Swampland Lullaby" falls into two subgenres of lullaby: death and hunting. However, now it's a little more subtle than my original glib composition, plus I've now got guitar chords for you:

Pi-po-pi-po-pi-po (That's A Swampland Lullaby)
3/4 time

[G] Over in the marshes, [C] many nights [G]ago
The spring frog piped his songs of love in [A7] sweet tones from [D7] below.
[G] He couldn’t call with gusto for the [C] owls were on the [G] wing
With fine-tuned ears they’d find him, so he [A7] softly [D] had to [G] sing:

[G]Pi-po-pi-po-pi-po, [C] Pi-po-pi-po- [G] pie
Pi-po-pi-po-pi-po, the [A7] moths and gnats do [D7] fly
This [G]world is filled with longing; our [C] dreams are filled with [G] sky
Pi-po-pi-po-pi-po, that’s a [A7] swampland [D] lulla [G] by.

High above the marshes, the bats prepared for flight
While other creatures slumbered deep, they’d hunt for food by night.
Mosquitoes hummed a warning as the spring frog piped his song,
“This world’s both fierce and beautiful, and we won’t be here for long.”

Pi-po-pi-po-pi-po, Pi-po-pi-po-pie
Pi-po-pi-po-pi-po, the moths and gnats do fly
This world is filled with longing; our dreams are filled with sky
Pi-po-pi-po-pi-po, that’s a swampland lullaby.

Words: Farida Dowler Music: James Royce Shannon

Public Domain

Any of you who have ever discussed copyright, public domain and fair use know that the conversations can quickly become heated and distraught, culminating in people attacking each other with Shakespearian insults, rotten bananas and copies of AACR2. My particular gripe is with people who discover songs they did not write and then copyright the songs in their own names. While the primary purpose of copyright law is more to promote and share knowledge than it is to protect the interests of the people who created their various works, copyrighting someone else's work (even if the authorship is unknown) seems dangerously close to plagarism.

At this time, songs that are published before 1923 are in the Public Domain-- that is, anyone can perform and record them. There may be particular versions of these songs that someone has copyrighted, and it's pretty easy to change a chord or phrase, then claim it as your own arrangement. Some songs have managed to have their copyright extended. I won't belabor the Happy Birthday issue again, but you can read about it in an earlier post here: Happy Birthday to--whoops!

While not definitive, here are some sources to help you determine whether or not the songs you want to perform are in the Public Domain:

Public Domain Music
PD Info
MusicEase Traditional Songbook for Children and Adults

If you spot inconsistencies or things that are just plain wrong, let me know in the comments. I've already found one: in a couple of these lists, "All the Pretty Little Horses" is cited as a public domain song. In contrast, my Rise Up Singing book says that the copyright is 1934, renewed in 1962 and collected by John and Alan Lomax. However, it also says "International copyright secured" when there's no such thing as an international copyright.

Have your eyes begun to glaze over yet?

Update: One story of many demonstrating how copyright and public domain laws do not add up to an exact science: JibJab Media, Inc. v. Ludlow Music, Inc.