Sometimes we want things so badly that we call in favors from the universe and will our desires into reality. It doesn’t always work, and the results aren’t always spectacular, but every once in awhile thinking makes it so. And if we give the universe a little nudge with our own actions, so much the better. I changed the words to “Hush, Little Baby” when Keilana was tiny. Partly because I was a single mom and it seemed unfair for “daddy” to get all the credit, and partly because I’m just that contrary. Since Keilana was an angel as long as someone was paying attention to her (a bit like now), I did a lot of singing, dancing and reading with her to keep the peace. I sang the modified, mom-centric lyrics so often during those first years of parenthood that I forgot there were any others, and the first time I heard someone sing the classic version again, I had a moment of cognitive dissonance. I had literally created an alternate reality where the words to the song had always been about babies and mamas, so someone crooning about daddies and mockingbirds did not compute. So, even now when I sing to Scarlett after 
all these years, I still get to be the song’s good guy. She likes my version of the song, but she’s also open to mixing things up a little--which is why she likes Sylvia Long’s unique interpretation of Hush Little Baby. And so do I.http://www.amazon.com/Hush-Little-Baby-Sylvia-Long/dp/0811814165
http://www.sylvia-long.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment