Spirit In The Sky
What is/are the first song(s) you remember hearing? Share your first musical experiences with us!
The first song I remember, really remember by tune and misunderstood little girl nonsense lyrics? That's easy. Norman Greenbaum. Spirit in the Sky. Nineteen-seventy, and that would put me at about three years old and my brother woulda been about eight.
Mama never was one much for music that weren't sung in church on Sunday's and she really couldn't stand most of what was on the radio when we were growin' up. Wes and I were somethin' awful with the rock we played. Between The Stones and Led Zeppelin, Mama was always screamin' up the stairs at us to turn that God awful racket down. We just turned it up louder to drown her out. Then of course Daddy's come up there and pulled the plug right out the wall and ask if we wanted a conversation with the curled knuckles of his fist.
Knowin' me, I'm sure none of y'all would be surprised that Daddy's threats and Mama's yellin' never stopped us for longer than a few minutes. Wes' and his record player--Lord how I loved that thing, I can still hear him lecturin' me on how to handle his LPs and to not touch the needle. That goofy little half round fuzzy roller he used to brush them clean. That turn table was played half near to death between us. Me, I just had an AM/FM radio in my room that didn't pick up shit half the time cause I'd broken the antenna back when it was Mama's kitchen radio.
Anyhow, what was I talkin' about here? The first song I remember. Mama's radio in the kitchen was almost always set on AM so she could listen to the news and the weather and she liked listening to some Gospel program where they read scripture. I remember it always being on even if it was just broadcastin' static with the volume turned way down low. She says she got into that habit when Wes was a baby, the white noise settled him down when he'd start fussin' and carryin' on.
It was still winter-time, I know, cause Wes was playin' in the kitchen with me and we was all gettin' underfoot while Mama was tryin' to make supper. It was warm in there cause the oven was on (old farm house didn't have central heatin' back then and I know this only cause I remember when the old furnace was pulled out and the duct work changed when I was twelve) and Wes kept twistin' the head off my baby doll makin' me scream. Mama finally had it with him tormentin' me and she turned the dial on the radio. Spirit in the Sky was playin' and it must have been about a quarter of the way through cause he was singin' about you 'Gotta have a friend in Jesus' which is probably the only reason Mama left it on...
I was cryin' about that damned doll so she scooped me up on her hip and I remember her turnin' us both round and round in the kitchen dancin' with me until I stopped bein' such a ninny and started laughin'. She kept dancin' with me like that, holdin' me with one arm and she had Wes by the hand. I don't actually like the song, to be honest with you, but I can't hear those openin' notes GGG D A without thinkin' about Mama dancin' with the both of us and when I was growin' up, I'd make her or Wes or anyone else around dance with me to it whenever it was on the radio.
Here ya go, maybe one of y'all will like it better than I do:
The first song I remember, really remember by tune and misunderstood little girl nonsense lyrics? That's easy. Norman Greenbaum. Spirit in the Sky. Nineteen-seventy, and that would put me at about three years old and my brother woulda been about eight.
Mama never was one much for music that weren't sung in church on Sunday's and she really couldn't stand most of what was on the radio when we were growin' up. Wes and I were somethin' awful with the rock we played. Between The Stones and Led Zeppelin, Mama was always screamin' up the stairs at us to turn that God awful racket down. We just turned it up louder to drown her out. Then of course Daddy's come up there and pulled the plug right out the wall and ask if we wanted a conversation with the curled knuckles of his fist.
Knowin' me, I'm sure none of y'all would be surprised that Daddy's threats and Mama's yellin' never stopped us for longer than a few minutes. Wes' and his record player--Lord how I loved that thing, I can still hear him lecturin' me on how to handle his LPs and to not touch the needle. That goofy little half round fuzzy roller he used to brush them clean. That turn table was played half near to death between us. Me, I just had an AM/FM radio in my room that didn't pick up shit half the time cause I'd broken the antenna back when it was Mama's kitchen radio.
Anyhow, what was I talkin' about here? The first song I remember. Mama's radio in the kitchen was almost always set on AM so she could listen to the news and the weather and she liked listening to some Gospel program where they read scripture. I remember it always being on even if it was just broadcastin' static with the volume turned way down low. She says she got into that habit when Wes was a baby, the white noise settled him down when he'd start fussin' and carryin' on.
It was still winter-time, I know, cause Wes was playin' in the kitchen with me and we was all gettin' underfoot while Mama was tryin' to make supper. It was warm in there cause the oven was on (old farm house didn't have central heatin' back then and I know this only cause I remember when the old furnace was pulled out and the duct work changed when I was twelve) and Wes kept twistin' the head off my baby doll makin' me scream. Mama finally had it with him tormentin' me and she turned the dial on the radio. Spirit in the Sky was playin' and it must have been about a quarter of the way through cause he was singin' about you 'Gotta have a friend in Jesus' which is probably the only reason Mama left it on...
I was cryin' about that damned doll so she scooped me up on her hip and I remember her turnin' us both round and round in the kitchen dancin' with me until I stopped bein' such a ninny and started laughin'. She kept dancin' with me like that, holdin' me with one arm and she had Wes by the hand. I don't actually like the song, to be honest with you, but I can't hear those openin' notes GGG D A without thinkin' about Mama dancin' with the both of us and when I was growin' up, I'd make her or Wes or anyone else around dance with me to it whenever it was on the radio.
Here ya go, maybe one of y'all will like it better than I do: