Glee--Through Children's Eyes
We got a lot of inspirational prompts for this challenge at tv_universe, but the one that got me was to pick a song for our inspiration. I've been lately obsessed with a kids' album that we grew up with--and recently dusted off for our nephews--Through Children's Eyes by the Limeliters. (And here at Amazon. Read the comments!) I especially love Morningtown Ride, written by the amazing Malvina Reynolds, and the imagery of singing a kid to sleep with the idea of getting on a rockin', rollin', ridin' train "bound for Morningtown, many miles away." To connect it to something TV-related, well of course, I went with Glee.
Picspam and Drabbl
es: Here's how and who I imagined doing the songs.
Glee: Through Children’s Eyes
Words: 1052
Rating: G
Will stood in front of the glee kids in the choir room, ready to launch into his next great idea.
“Okay, team! Remember, we got the kids from the St. Ignatius song and dance club coming in on Friday, so-“ Shue did a step-ball-change, ending in a flourish- “may I introduce this tried-and-true classic.” He pulled a flat square off the piano and showed the cardboard cover of a vinyl album. “Through Children’s Eyes, by the Limeliters. My parents turned me on to this when I was a kid. They listened to it when they were kids!” His eyes glowed with anticipation as he scanned the room. The Glee Club, for their part, were either rolling their eyes, squinting to look at the battered album cover, talking with each other, or, in Puck’s case, snoozing.
“C’mon, show a little enthusiasm!” Shue remonstrated. “I’ll bet that even if you don’t know this album, you’ll know a lot of the tunes. You’ll each listen to the songs, and tomorrow we’ll figure out who does what.”
****
As the songs reeled on, Santana did an even more exaggerated version of her customary eye roll. “KIDS’ tunes? Folk music? This is all so last century.” It was part of her charm that she managed to look gorgeous even in her most truculent pose.
Suddenly, though, the kids’ and folk-singers’ voices swelled and Santana sat bolt upright, eyes wide and bright, lips parted, arms outstretched. As if pulled by a golden thread, she rose from her seat. As the others turned to look at her, she swivelled excitedly from side to side. “Tingalayo!! Mi abuela used to sing this to me when I was a little girl!”
She sashayed to the front of the room, swaying and singing.
“Me burro hee, me burro haw
Me burro dormir en una cama de paja …”
The song ended with a flourish, and, to the applause and shouts of her classmates, Santana resumed her sulky expression and stalked back to her seat, muttering: “Okay. I’ll do that one.”
****
Lauren paused at the bottom of the steps after Brittany stopped the action to work out a few steps of the choreography. “Yeah, I remember this song from a Raffi concert,” she drawled. “First experience at true betrayal.” Tina essayed a quick step-ball-change on the stairs. “Betrayal? By Raffi? What do you mean?” Lauren put her hands on her hips and curled her lip. “The song, right? I believed in it. So that night, after the show, I chewed down a lollipop and planted the stick in the backyard. Watered it and everything. And what happened? Bupkus. No frickin’ lollipop tree, no happy laughing. What a ripoff!” Tina started to laugh, but saw the glint in Lauren’s eye and instead patted her on the shoulder. “Made you tough, right? Good lesson, keep ya going.” “Damn straight. Made me the woman I am today,” growled Lauren, as they trotted to catch up with the others.
****
“All aboard! Get yer ticket ready!” bellowed Sam, as the rest of the ensemble swirled and chugged around him. He jumped down into the fray, following the dance steps and semi-gospel singing, until somewhere near stage center he backed into Jake, who was standing stock-still with his arms crossed. “Ooop, sorry, what’sa matter with you?” Sam spluttered to a halt, leaving his partner, Kitty, to go chassee-ing stage right without him. Jake’s lip curled. “What’s with this song, man? ‘Don’t carry nothing but the righteous and the holy? This train don’t carry no gamblers?’ I don’t want to be singing some kind of elitist sh*t.” Sam clapped him on the shoulder. “I know what you mean, but look at it this way. This song is a piece of our history. And a lot of people have agreed with you. Look at my man Bruce Springsteen, he wrote a whole song just to counter this one. You know, “this train is for losers and winners, saints and sinners”! Past, present, and future, dude, it’s all part of it!” He grinned happily, and, seeing Kitty spin by again, trotted to catch up with her and continue the number.
Jake stared after him, nodded thoughtfully, then, suddenly looking bemused, called out, “Uhhh. Bruce Who?”
****
“Move over, move over, and make like a jiggedy-jig! We’ll always move over for Marty!” sang Blaine enthusiastically from his seat as they watched Rachel skip around the room, drawing Glee members to their feet. “God I always hated this song,” muttered Kurt. Blaine turned with a look of concern. “Aw, sweetie, you did? Why?”
Kurt sketched a gesture in the air. “It was one of those times….singing this in grade school…where it was just a stabbing reminder that I would never belong. I would never be anyone’s ‘very best friend’ and no-one would ever ‘find me a place.’”
Blaine considered for a moment, then squeezed himself closer to Kurt. “Hey, baby. Forget all that. You know. I’ll always move over for you.” Kurt’s expression softened. “I know, honey. I know.” As the others danced and sang around the choir room, the two of them nuzzled and murmured together.
***
Will sat back in his seat in the auditorium, watching the Glee Club croon and move around the stage, and just now ushering their grade-school counterparts into the musical number. He nodded to himself that, despite all the usual bickering and complaining, this idea of his had worked out great. The little kids had loved it; his Glee kids had finally gotten into the spirit of the thing; and they’d gotten a great show out of the whole thing. As the performers eased into the beautiful harmonies of “Morningtown Ride,” he let himself relax and enjoy this music that had meant so much to him as a child, and now again as an adult.
His parents had not only loved this record of kid-friendly tunes, but folk music in general, and Malvina Reynolds, she of Little Boxes fame, had been a particular favorite, for her politics as well as her music.
And this song, so lovely, with its imagining of sleep as a train heading toward a waking land far away. Closing his eyes, captured by the tune’s lullaby-lilt, he imagined them-his kids-all in a warm, cozy train, rockin’ rollin’ riding toward their futures…many miles away.
Fanmix: Of course it wouldn't be fair to just do the original album, so I looked for other versions, some of which are kind of wonky. LOL. Just imagine the Glee kids singing...
1. This Train -- Mumford & Sons and Edward Sharpe
2. Marty -- Play School
3. Hey Jimmy Joe John Jim Jack -- The Original Broadway Cast of Let It Ride!
4. Morningtown Ride -- The Irish Rovers
5. Join Into The Game -- The Weavers
6. I Had A Mule -- Rosalie Sorrels
7. Lollipop Tree -- Burl Ives
8. Tingalayo -- Raffi
9. The Riddle Song -- Sam Cooke
10. Stay On The Sunny Side -- The Limeliters
But if you want to see/hear the versions that inspired me, see the links up top.
Picspam and Drabbl
es: Here's how and who I imagined doing the songs.
Glee: Through Children’s Eyes
Words: 1052
Rating: G
Will stood in front of the glee kids in the choir room, ready to launch into his next great idea.
“Okay, team! Remember, we got the kids from the St. Ignatius song and dance club coming in on Friday, so-“ Shue did a step-ball-change, ending in a flourish- “may I introduce this tried-and-true classic.” He pulled a flat square off the piano and showed the cardboard cover of a vinyl album. “Through Children’s Eyes, by the Limeliters. My parents turned me on to this when I was a kid. They listened to it when they were kids!” His eyes glowed with anticipation as he scanned the room. The Glee Club, for their part, were either rolling their eyes, squinting to look at the battered album cover, talking with each other, or, in Puck’s case, snoozing.
“C’mon, show a little enthusiasm!” Shue remonstrated. “I’ll bet that even if you don’t know this album, you’ll know a lot of the tunes. You’ll each listen to the songs, and tomorrow we’ll figure out who does what.”
****
As the songs reeled on, Santana did an even more exaggerated version of her customary eye roll. “KIDS’ tunes? Folk music? This is all so last century.” It was part of her charm that she managed to look gorgeous even in her most truculent pose.
Suddenly, though, the kids’ and folk-singers’ voices swelled and Santana sat bolt upright, eyes wide and bright, lips parted, arms outstretched. As if pulled by a golden thread, she rose from her seat. As the others turned to look at her, she swivelled excitedly from side to side. “Tingalayo!! Mi abuela used to sing this to me when I was a little girl!”
She sashayed to the front of the room, swaying and singing.
“Me burro hee, me burro haw
Me burro dormir en una cama de paja …”
The song ended with a flourish, and, to the applause and shouts of her classmates, Santana resumed her sulky expression and stalked back to her seat, muttering: “Okay. I’ll do that one.”
****
Lauren paused at the bottom of the steps after Brittany stopped the action to work out a few steps of the choreography. “Yeah, I remember this song from a Raffi concert,” she drawled. “First experience at true betrayal.” Tina essayed a quick step-ball-change on the stairs. “Betrayal? By Raffi? What do you mean?” Lauren put her hands on her hips and curled her lip. “The song, right? I believed in it. So that night, after the show, I chewed down a lollipop and planted the stick in the backyard. Watered it and everything. And what happened? Bupkus. No frickin’ lollipop tree, no happy laughing. What a ripoff!” Tina started to laugh, but saw the glint in Lauren’s eye and instead patted her on the shoulder. “Made you tough, right? Good lesson, keep ya going.” “Damn straight. Made me the woman I am today,” growled Lauren, as they trotted to catch up with the others.
****
“All aboard! Get yer ticket ready!” bellowed Sam, as the rest of the ensemble swirled and chugged around him. He jumped down into the fray, following the dance steps and semi-gospel singing, until somewhere near stage center he backed into Jake, who was standing stock-still with his arms crossed. “Ooop, sorry, what’sa matter with you?” Sam spluttered to a halt, leaving his partner, Kitty, to go chassee-ing stage right without him. Jake’s lip curled. “What’s with this song, man? ‘Don’t carry nothing but the righteous and the holy? This train don’t carry no gamblers?’ I don’t want to be singing some kind of elitist sh*t.” Sam clapped him on the shoulder. “I know what you mean, but look at it this way. This song is a piece of our history. And a lot of people have agreed with you. Look at my man Bruce Springsteen, he wrote a whole song just to counter this one. You know, “this train is for losers and winners, saints and sinners”! Past, present, and future, dude, it’s all part of it!” He grinned happily, and, seeing Kitty spin by again, trotted to catch up with her and continue the number.
Jake stared after him, nodded thoughtfully, then, suddenly looking bemused, called out, “Uhhh. Bruce Who?”
****
“Move over, move over, and make like a jiggedy-jig! We’ll always move over for Marty!” sang Blaine enthusiastically from his seat as they watched Rachel skip around the room, drawing Glee members to their feet. “God I always hated this song,” muttered Kurt. Blaine turned with a look of concern. “Aw, sweetie, you did? Why?”
Kurt sketched a gesture in the air. “It was one of those times….singing this in grade school…where it was just a stabbing reminder that I would never belong. I would never be anyone’s ‘very best friend’ and no-one would ever ‘find me a place.’”
Blaine considered for a moment, then squeezed himself closer to Kurt. “Hey, baby. Forget all that. You know. I’ll always move over for you.” Kurt’s expression softened. “I know, honey. I know.” As the others danced and sang around the choir room, the two of them nuzzled and murmured together.
***
Will sat back in his seat in the auditorium, watching the Glee Club croon and move around the stage, and just now ushering their grade-school counterparts into the musical number. He nodded to himself that, despite all the usual bickering and complaining, this idea of his had worked out great. The little kids had loved it; his Glee kids had finally gotten into the spirit of the thing; and they’d gotten a great show out of the whole thing. As the performers eased into the beautiful harmonies of “Morningtown Ride,” he let himself relax and enjoy this music that had meant so much to him as a child, and now again as an adult.
His parents had not only loved this record of kid-friendly tunes, but folk music in general, and Malvina Reynolds, she of Little Boxes fame, had been a particular favorite, for her politics as well as her music.
And this song, so lovely, with its imagining of sleep as a train heading toward a waking land far away. Closing his eyes, captured by the tune’s lullaby-lilt, he imagined them-his kids-all in a warm, cozy train, rockin’ rollin’ riding toward their futures…many miles away.
Fanmix: Of course it wouldn't be fair to just do the original album, so I looked for other versions, some of which are kind of wonky. LOL. Just imagine the Glee kids singing...
1. This Train -- Mumford & Sons and Edward Sharpe
2. Marty -- Play School
3. Hey Jimmy Joe John Jim Jack -- The Original Broadway Cast of Let It Ride!
4. Morningtown Ride -- The Irish Rovers
5. Join Into The Game -- The Weavers
6. I Had A Mule -- Rosalie Sorrels
7. Lollipop Tree -- Burl Ives
8. Tingalayo -- Raffi
9. The Riddle Song -- Sam Cooke
10. Stay On The Sunny Side -- The Limeliters
But if you want to see/hear the versions that inspired me, see the links up top.