All posts by Dona

33. Underground, Overground, Wombling Free

Song Blog,

the wombles bandI remember being surprised that men dressed as large furry creatures could produce music good enough to be considered pop hit music, but then again – I wasn’t all that into music at the time.

I don’t remember when I first heard about the Wombles, but once I did, their catchy tunes had me interested enough to buy a 3-record set. It might have been the fact that I spent three months at college in London right across from Wimbledon Common (although I think I knew about the Wombles before that).

For those of you who don’t know what Wombles are – they are furry critters that live on Wimbledon Common. They pick up litter and make useful things out of it. There were the books by Elisabeth Beresford, then the television series, then the band. I understand that the series is back on UK television.

Anyway, I liked their music and played it a bit after I bought the 3-record set. One of the quirky things about my past, I suppose.

Here you go – a YouTube embed for you: Remember You’re a Womble – Enjoy!

32. Funerals of friends and strangers

Music,

This morning I went to a memorial service for someone I’d never met. Her son and my son wrestled on the same team. I don’t always go to the wrestling practices, tournaments and meets and neither did she. I didn’t know anything about her, but as the morning progressed I learned that she was a great cook, had a wonderful sense of humor, was a loving mother and an incredible friend.

The Temple Emanuel in Kensington was filled – extra seating was set up in back. Several friends of the departed spoke about their friendship with her and her family.

It made me want to be a better friend. It made me want to foster the friendships I had and make new friends.

At 50, I’m not sure how to do that.

Anyway, at least the name of this song is appropriate for this post.

Elton John – Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding on YouTube.

31. Car tunes

Song Blog

When I found out that Harry Chapin had a brother who was a musician, and that I’d seen him on TV I asked a couple of friends if they wanted to see him perform at the Birchmere. This was the old Birchmere – the cozy one.

Tom Chapin is mostly a children’s singer – and sings whimsical songs about family life and animals and kids. He did sing a couple of Harry’s songs, and said some self-depreciating remarks. I felt bad for him – as he seemed to think the patrons were expecting Harry’s Brother, not Tom Chapin.

I’m pretty sure I’m the only one in my party who enjoyed the music, but we had a good enough time. During the intermission I ran into Tom Chapin in the little store at the Birchmere. He asked me how I liked the warm-up act, I said I thought she was good, he said he did too. I wanted to tell him that I was there to see him, not Harry. That while I liked Harry and his music, I was ready to be entertained by a different musician. But I didn’t say any of that.

That night I bought a couple of his recordings. We’d play them in the car for our children on long car rides – we soon learned many of the lyrics and would all sing along. Don’t tell their friends, but my kids still like to hear Tom Chapin’s songs in the car.

Here’s a video of Tom Chapin singing State Laughs, one of the songs we liked: