I keep thinking I've told this story before, but I scanned last year's entries and I didn't see it. So apologies if I'm repeating myself from elsewhere :)
Singing was a big part of my primary school (K-4). We sang every day in class, and at assemblies (I suppose that was our music programme, since we didn't learn instruments). When I was in Grade 4, someone came up with the idea to make a record. Each class had their own song, and there were school-wide songs (the ones I remember for sure are "Two Little Boys," "Teddy Bear's Picnic," "Ugly Duckling"). We did recording sessions in the gym over what seemed like weeks and at the end we had an actual record - I still have my copy somewhere.
My class's song was "Mountain Dew." I'm not sure why they thought it was appropriate for nine-year-olds to sing about bootlegging, but we loved it! We'd finish each chorus by shouting "Ya-hoo!" as loudly as we could (which I'm sure was delightful for the other teachers), and we were convinced that we shouted so loudly that we'd made cracks in the
"I'm not sure why they thought it was appropriate for nine-year-olds to sing about bootlegging..."
Singing about bootlegging is never wrong!
I was watching a program on The History Channel the other day and it featured an elderly moonshiner by the unlikely name of Popcorn Sutton. He said things like, "I tell people, if they wanna know about the liquor laws, just ask me. Simply because ... if there is one ... I broke it" and he danced a lively little jig at one point even though he was about a million years old. I kind of want to roleplay him. He'd make a great character.
Re: raaaaaaaandom!mer_duffJanuary 17 2008, 02:06:31 UTC
I dated a guy in university whose grandfather had been a rum-runner to the States during Prohibition. I can't remember why it came up in English class, but everyone was very impressed, even the professor...
1. Wow, we did that! I have no idea what possessed the school to think making a record was a good idea. I still have it somewhere, too - at least, I hope so. Our class sang "The Sun is a Very Happy Fellow", and one girl was picked to do a solo during it. I still remember the teacher gesturing us to complete silence for the few seconds before and after the actual recording.
I used to listen to it a lot at home - one of my favourites was "Little White Bull", which is kind of like a bovine version of The Ugly Duckling XD
2. Cat's in the Cradle makes me sniffle. This was summer camp as in you actually stayed overnight, did you? My only experience of summer camp comes from American media :)
On our record, at the end of the last song, one of kindergarten kids can be heard saying, "I'm glad that's over." Very cute. He grew up to be a musician (and ski bum, not an unusual combination in Vancouver).
It was a day camp, so we shipped out in the morning on mini school buses and came home by dinnertime, 5 days a week, for the session. I think they split the summer into two sessions, and you could go to one or the other or both.
Never went to sleep-away camp, actually. Closest I came was a couple of overnight or weekend camping trips when I was a little older, as part of an "enrichment" environmental science camp -- we put up our own tents on a campground/beach out on eastern Long Island. Lots of mosquitoes and mud, but otherwise fun.
Singing was a big part of my primary school (K-4). We sang every day in class, and at assemblies (I suppose that was our music programme, since we didn't learn instruments). When I was in Grade 4, someone came up with the idea to make a record. Each class had their own song, and there were school-wide songs (the ones I remember for sure are "Two Little Boys," "Teddy Bear's Picnic," "Ugly Duckling"). We did recording sessions in the gym over what seemed like weeks and at the end we had an actual record - I still have my copy somewhere.
My class's song was "Mountain Dew." I'm not sure why they thought it was appropriate for nine-year-olds to sing about bootlegging, but we loved it! We'd finish each chorus by shouting "Ya-hoo!" as loudly as we could (which I'm sure was delightful for the other teachers), and we were convinced that we shouted so loudly that we'd made cracks in the
Reply
Reply
Singing about bootlegging is never wrong!
I was watching a program on The History Channel the other day and it featured an elderly moonshiner by the unlikely name of Popcorn Sutton. He said things like, "I tell people, if they wanna know about the liquor laws, just ask me. Simply because ... if there is one ... I broke it" and he danced a lively little jig at one point even though he was about a million years old. I kind of want to roleplay him. He'd make a great character.
Reply
Reply
Just thought I'd toss that in. :)
Reply
I used to listen to it a lot at home - one of my favourites was "Little White Bull", which is kind of like a bovine version of The Ugly Duckling XD
2. Cat's in the Cradle makes me sniffle. This was summer camp as in you actually stayed overnight, did you? My only experience of summer camp comes from American media :)
Reply
Reply
Reply
Never went to sleep-away camp, actually. Closest I came was a couple of overnight or weekend camping trips when I was a little older, as part of an "enrichment" environmental science camp -- we put up our own tents on a campground/beach out on eastern Long Island. Lots of mosquitoes and mud, but otherwise fun.
Reply
Leave a comment