When we used to travel as kids, the entertainment in the car consisted of counting cows out the window, playing the “I’m going on a trip” memory game, looking at the maps stuffed into the pocket in back of the driver’s seat, and as a special treat, those “magic ink” puzzle books. But what we most often did in family car trips was sing songs.
It’s a very unusual idea now to think of singing songs in the car, since the advent of in-car DVD players, MP3 players, and the GameBoy, but for little kids who don’t have the toys or aren’t interested in those things, some interaction with the family via singing in the car can be fun.
This morning, the kids woke me up by playing a CD of kids songs and nursery rhymes far too loud. Some of these songs were songs we used to sing in the car on our long-ish trip from home to the Bay. There were many songs that we sang that were not on their CD, and quite a few nursery rhymes that I didn’t know anyone had put a tune to.
Some sample staple songs include “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” and “She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain When She Comes”. I also remember singing “Swing Low Sweet Chariot”, which seems like an odd traveling song to sing, now that I think about it. There were a few other tunes with religious overtones, like “Michael Row the Boat Ashore”, which is interesting to think about as an adult who can better appreciate the origin of these songs.
I’ve had no luck so far with teaching Abby how to sing in the round. The best rendition of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” is still a bit out of reach. Also, songs that support harmony, like “You Are My Sunshine”, are not quite ready. Maybe we just need to practice more.
Riley does a great solo job of “Baa Baa Black Sheep” these days. Often after school while waiting for Berta to come home, the kids and I would sit on the family room floor and see how we could change the sound of the familiar songs. For example, Riley was thrilled with the sound of “Baa Baa” when put to a “We Will Rock You”-like percussion pounded out on the family room floor.
We also learned a few songs in Scouts when I was younger. In particular, a song I didn’t learn, but heard at camp once and loved, was called “The Cat Came Back”. I searched for the lyrics recently, but without the tune to accompany it, it’s hard to recall how it goes only having heard it once. It’s a fun song, though.
Searching for “The Cat Came Back” in particular I’ve found that it’s one of the few children’s songs that uses a minor progression in the song (although they won’t say explicitly what it is, which is bothersome for trying to figure the tune out). Exposing kids to different types of music is good at Abby and Riley’s age, and I hope they are able to benefit from it.
It’s only a matter of time until they’re too old for kid music and prefer to sit in the van with their headphones on listening to top 40. I hope I can expand their musical horizons to the point where they enjoy more than just that, and perhaps in the future have the same happy memories of singing in the car that I have, just as I will look back on the happy days of them playing kid music far too loud for me to sleep in on Saturday morning.
