Just the other day, my friend Iris and I were in a place
where there was music playing the background.
Except it
wasn’t really music. It was what some
people call “music” these days, but it wasn’t real music.
Today’s
hits have titles like “Young, Wild and Free,” “A__ Back Home,” “Set Fire to the
Rain,” and “Drive By.”
Even when
the titles are okay, it’s hard to understand the lyrics (even those we might
want to understand – as opposed to those we don’t) and it’s difficult to find a
tune in what some call “songs.”
Iris and I
asked the guy to play some real music.
He asked, “Like what?”
And we
responded that we liked Frank Sinatra, for example. And Perry Como and Andy Williams. The Righteous Brothers and the Everly Brothers. No, we're not from another planet. An earlier time? Yes, maybe that explains it.
What about Sam Cooke, Simon & Garfunkle, Al Green? They made music.
I
started looking through old sheet music for some of the familiar and favorite
melodies. I found beautiful music:
“Melody of Love,” “Fascination,” “When I Grow to Old to Dream,” “Red Sails in
the Sunset,” “Moon River,” "Wonderland by Night," "Misty" and more.
That was real music.
But I also
found that today’s hits aren’t the only ones with unusual titles. Some of the ones from yesteryear: “Don’t Sit
Under the Apple Tree With Anyone Else But Me,” “Chong, He Came From Hong Kong,”
“Throw Another Log on the Fire,” "Shoo-Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy," "Any Little Girl Can Make a Bad Man Good," "I'm Tying the Leaves So They Won't Come Down," “Sam, You Made the Pants Too Long,” “Ma, He’s
Making Eyes at Me,” “Bury Me Out on the Prairie,” and, one of my favorites, “How
Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You (When You Know I’ve Been a Liar
All My Life)?”
Even with
odd-sounding names, the music had a tune and it had a soul.
Ah, for the
good ol’ days!
1 comment:
It's been a while since I've downloaded any songs. They all sound the same :(
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