What did your parents sing to you?

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My folks sang "Mary Don't You Weep" "Swing Low" and "Goodnight Irene" as I drifted off to my young Knoxville sleep. And, strangely, "What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor."

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

My parents never sang me to sleep. They'd tell me to shut up and go to sleep. My mom sings a lot though. She'd sing all sorts of crazy ass shit, including What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor, probably because her father was both a sailor and an alcoholic. She would sing Goody Two Shoes a lot, I remember that. She gets phases where she has to listen to the same song repeatedly, endlessly, for months. So she'd sing whatever song was the one she was listening to at the time.

― Ally, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

My mother also sang that drunken sailor song. Perhaps its more common than you think

― Hans, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Drunken Sailor" affected me deeply. My whole life could be seen as an attempt to get in the scuppers with a hosepipe on me.

― Tracer hand, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

No drunken sailors for me, though indeed my dad was a sailor. Don't remember what if anything was sung to me. Hm...

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Irish Lullaby (Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ra)", "Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooley", "Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-yay" (sung when bouncing me on their knee), "It's a Long Way to Tipperary", "Puff the Magic Dragon". And my dad would sing the Mel Torme song "Cement Mixer Putty Putty", although he always sing "putsy putsy" for some reason.

That "Side by Side" ("we ain't got a barrel of money") song was our family song, I *hated* it.

― Arthur, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I can remember "My Father was the keeper of the Eddystone Light," "Froggy Went a Courtin'" "Kawliga" and for some reason "I Am The Great Pretender." My dad would sing, out of tune, in the truck on the way to the dump.

― Andy, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Elvis and Buddy Holly

― Scott Reid, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yes, Froggy Went a-Courtin was a big favorite at my house. "Rinktum bottum-idge a cambo" sounds vaguely perverted now... oh, and "Camptown Races" of course, and "Oh, Susanna".

My mother also sang a beautiful song with a kind of repeating structure about church bells in England. I can't remember the lyrics except for

"What will you give me?" sing the sad bells of Rhymny...

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Tracer, that's "The Bells of Rhymney". The Byrds did it, their version is absolutely gorgeous. SEARCH SEARCH SEARCH HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!!!. I believe Pete Seeger put it to music first, but I could be wrong.

― Arthur, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Arthur, I thought my dad made up that Cement Mixer song!! And I never would have thought of it again had you not mentioned it.

― Sean, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Uh, sorry? So did he sing "Putty putty" or "Putsy putsy"? Actually, I've never heard anyone other than my dad sing it either, I just saw it listed on a Hits of the 40s compilation once.

― Arthur, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

My mum used to sing a song she wrote for me. The lyrics are incredibly embarrassing now that I think about it. She also used to sing songs from broadway musicals. When she was pregnant with me she used to sit headphones on her belly playing Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks, The Who, Led Zepplin. My dad would choose Pink Floyd, Cream, Blood Sweat and Tears, Chicago and Joe Cocker. I've been told I learnt to walk by "running" between the stereo's speakers while Hendrix was playing - I wouldn't walk unless it was playing apparently.

― Mascara, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

My father sang out of the little red song book ( like Joe Hill or the Internationale)
My mother sang hymns ( i esp. Remeber once in Davids royal city)
They both sang silly music hall tunes like Daisy or I love to go out wandering as well as traditonal irish and english folk songs like The Skye Boat Song or Molly Malone or Danny Boy.

― anthony, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Arthur -Good to know i was not imagaing Toura Loura Loura

― anthony, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Anthony, I thought I'd imagined "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" or that my parents made it up, until I did a google search and found that it 's been around forever and even Joe Hill has a version!

― Arthur, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

No singing. My parents read me stories. I would make them read the stories again and again until I fell asleep so frankly even Deep Purple and Pink Floyd would have been a better option for them.

― Tom, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I, like Arthur and Anthony, was treated to Irish songs, but mostly from my grandparents...I still treasure the joy of having my grandfather (a quick witted old chap who's thankfully still with us) improvise hysterical (to a six year old anyway) lyrics on the spot.

― Jess, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

My mom was the only one who sang to me. I heard Drunken Sailor, too. The more upbeat secular Christmas tunes: Jingle Bells, Sleigh Ride, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph. Songs "intended for kids" I suppose: Row Row Row Your Boat and the like. Lots of church songs for kids: Who Built the Ark, Dry Bones, Who did Swallow Jonah. And I could tell she was very happy when she sang to me the Carpenters' CLOSE TO YOU.

― 1 1 2 3 5, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I got stories to. It took me an hour and a half to get to bed. One song from my father, one from my mother ,then a contution of a made up story. These would last for weeks and contain awful puns. Then a story book , then a chapter of a chapter book. Isnomnia even when i was six. I also got the Green Hills and Rocky Shores, ehich ruled.

― anthony, Tuesday, 14 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

My mother ran away with a sailor, that's how I'm here :P Don't remember any lullabies, the song I remember most clearly from when I was a child my grandfather sang to wake us up weekday mornings: It's nice to get up in the morning when the sun is big and bright at 4 or 5 or 6 o'clock in the good old summertime but when the snow is snowing and it's murky overhead oh it's nice to get up in the morning but it's nicer to stay in your bed. My dad was a big fan of Billy Eckstine and Nat King Cole, he'd sing their stuff.

― Lesley Higgins, Wednesday, 15 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"cement mixer" was, i'm pretty sure, originally done by the one and only Slim Gaillard. He went "putty, putty", but I'm sure "putsy, putsy" is an acceptable alternative. Great song, too!

my dad sang "cigarettes and whiskey and wild wild women" every now and then. Some Flanders & Swann, too, and Spike Jones.

― pauls00, Wednesday, 15 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

My dad used to sing that 'Daddy's gonna buy you a mockin bird' song to me. My sister claims that my mum used to sing 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep' a lot, but I don't remember this.

― Nick, Wednesday, 15 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Brahm's Lullaby with her own made up words and songs from The Sound of Music.

― Lyra, Wednesday, 15 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

My Grandfather's Clock, erm, Christopher Robin changing guards at Buckingham Palace one, possibly the Flanders and Swann Hippopotamus one. Maybe a bit of Gilbert and Sullivan.

― Bill, Wednesday, 15 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Mr Hitler", the theme from Dad's Army (written 1968). Strangely enough, my mum *didn't* tell me it was a genuine wartime song, I just assumed for some years, like so many others, that it must have been ...

― Robin Carmody, Thursday, 16 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

My parents never sang to me, nor did we have a working stereo when I was growing up. Obviously my life's music obsession is to compensate for this.

― matthew hintz, Thursday, 16 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

one year passes...

My dad would sing Linda Ronstadt, particularly the one that goes "ooo-wee-ooo, baby baby." Mom, even more disturbingly, would sing "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy." They are very quiet and smart around everyone else.

― teeny (teeny), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 22:38 (twenty-two years ago)

two months pass...

"Green Grow the Rushes Ho"!!!

I just remembered this today and found to my amazement that I know all the mysterious and provocative verses (who are the "April rainers", the "Nine bright shiners"... I think once I'd incorporated this stuff, Tolkien was a gimme)

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 4 August 2003 18:59 (twenty-two years ago)

My parents sang plenty of songs however they're not very interesting but looking back, as I've got older it's begun to seem odd that the teacher in primary 5 got us to sing "Maxwell's silver hammer" regularly!

― Keith Watson (kmw), Monday, 4 August 2003 19:21 (twenty-two years ago)

I got hymns from my mother and grandma. I think 'Silent Night' came up a lot.

― Barima (Barima), Monday, 4 August 2003 19:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Mom: "Edelweiss"
Dad: "The Motorcyle Song"

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 4 August 2003 19:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Arlo Guthrie?

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 03:56 (twenty-two years ago)

mom: carly simon
dad: black sabbath (actually he'd play it at top volume on his guitar)

needless to say, they're divorced now...

― call mr. lee (call mr. lee), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 04:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Yup, Arlo Guthrie. Except I didn't know that until just now, when I Googled "motor-sickle."

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 05:24 (twenty-two years ago)

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