P52 Week 46 -- Happy

I am happy when I sing or listen to songs. For a while I sang in choirs, but now, I mostly sing along to hits on the car radio, like Pink’s “Just Give Me a Reason,” Maroon Five’s “Sugar,” or Walk the Moon’s “Shut Up and Dance.” I’m especially happy, supercharged happy, when I ride with my daughter and we sing together.

Alternately, I warble in the shower. There, I turn back the clock: my playlist is mostly oldies, songs that I learned decades ago. Kermit’s “Rainbow Connection” is one of my all time favorites. I just love those whimsical lyrics and the melody seems to settle well in my voice range.

Why are there so many
Songs about rainbows?
And what's on the other side
Rainbows have visions
And only illusions
Rainbows have nothing to hide
So we've been told
And some choose to believe it
I know they're wrong wait and see
Someday we'll find it
The rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me

Other tunes I croon are Abba’s “I Have a Dream” – yes, I do believe in angels – and “I’ll Be Seeing You” which I sang when in the Cascadian Chorale. Janet Hansard, the talented choir director, wrote a beautiful arrangement for this 1930s classic.

Under the noise camouflage of the shower spray or the hair dryer, I haltingly hack at the haunting arias of Handel’s Messiah – “Come Unto Him” and “How Beautiful are the Feet” – pieces I learned when I took private voice lessons in my thirties. I have to ratchet the key way down – I can no longer reach anywhere close to the soprano register.

At times, when I feel especially sappy happy, I indulge in treacly love songs: “Love me Tender,” and “Some Enchanted Evening.” And why not go all-out mushy! I confess to warbling Shania’s “From This Moment” and Elvis’ “Hawaiian Wedding Song.”

I am also happy that I can Youtube any song I want, and can listen to it over and over to my heart’s content. What a joy to have such technological advances at my fingertips! I won’t regale you with all the songs I’ve searched for – that would take too long – but I do want to share that some of my most poignantly happy finds have been of some Aussie performers from when I grew up in Sydney in the 50s and 60s: Johnny O’Keefe’s “She’s My Baby,” Patsy Ann Noble’s “Good Lookin’ Boy,” and Col Joye’s “Oh Yeah, Ah Hah.” Happy reminiscences!

So, bring it on, Pharrell, because I’m happy!

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