Songs for babies
OK. I'm making a mix for my daughter. What songs should I put in it?
My parents always played Simon and Garfunkel and Joan Baez for me, so I'm going to itunes some of those songs. But I feel the mix should have some more contemporary songs. Maybe some of those ditties from Magnetic Fields or "The Boy with the Arab Strap." That seems kind of like children's music.
The other night when I was trying to calm down Sinead the only song I could remember the lyrics to was Leadbelly/NIrvana's "In the pines, in the pines." It worked.
My parents always played Simon and Garfunkel and Joan Baez for me, so I'm going to itunes some of those songs. But I feel the mix should have some more contemporary songs. Maybe some of those ditties from Magnetic Fields or "The Boy with the Arab Strap." That seems kind of like children's music.
The other night when I was trying to calm down Sinead the only song I could remember the lyrics to was Leadbelly/NIrvana's "In the pines, in the pines." It worked.
posted by Johannes at 5:01 PM
5 Comments:
Working on a children's book with artist Sarah Wolfe. Maybe Ebba will be among its first readers :P
First list:
If "In the Pines/Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" was a hit, why not try little more blues? Johnson's Crossroads being an obvious choice. Either Guthrie is a good choice. Alice's Restaurant
Also, I feel uniquely qualified(excluding you) to compile a list of Dylan songs.
Jennifer suggests John Denver, which was what her mother sang. John Denver puts me to sleep still (yawn!).
Max,
Thanks for all of your amazing suggestions. If you are coming to AWP in Atlanta (which in a sudden turn of events I'm now attending), burn me a CD with these songs and I'll trade you a book.
Amish,
Half of my CD collection are old folk recordings from the 20s and 30s, but I think they would sound too muddy (Son House, RJohnson, Charlie Patton etc). I'm not sure why I think that.
My favorite song as a child was actually "The Internationale" (stand up you victims of opression etc). I don't have any John Denver, but I do have the Red House Painters' John Denver tribute album, which I think will make for some good songs.
So far, what she's liked the most was the cheesy piano-jazz program on NPR. That drove her wild.
My brother told me the best part of having a child is the experimentation. When my niece was 7/8 months, he'd put a straw-full of sweet tea to her lips, have her drink it, and see if she liked it. She started bouncing immediately. Then, on a spoon, came some whipped cream from desert. Again, bouncing. It was incredibly entertaining.
Congratulations! A beautiful name that only two poets can think of. Does Ebba also go with the whole Joyelle family tradition of double consonant names?
There is a very good Future Bible Heroes song (MF's side band) called "Lonely Days" that is very pretty and jangly and can put a baby to sleep. There is also "I'm Lonely" and "Lonely Robot." I doubt that any of these songs will make Sinead feel lonely since she's prelingual.
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