The lovely Maidens of Green Gables have tagged me for The 30 Song Tag! (Thanks awfully, Maidens!) Like most people, I do listen to songs from time to time. Therefore, I thought I was sufficiently qualified to give the 30 Song Tag a whirl.
Here goes:
Your favorite song
Oh dear. I fear this is rather an impossible question to answer, so I’ll just answer with a song I’ve listened to a lot recently and really like.
The Pied Piper by Crispian St. Peters
Your least favorite song
…This is not much easier. I can hardly answer with a song I find truly offensive, since I wouldn’t want to direct my poor readers to an awful song.
Okay, this is not actually my least favorite song, but I think it’s highly mediocre. Will that do?
Last Christmas by Wham!
A song that makes you happy
Start the Day Right by Guy Lombardo
Yes, I know this is a little goofy. But it’s fun and it’s cute and it does make me happy.
A song that makes you sad
I Can See It In Your Eyes by Randy Travis
A song that makes you feel guilty
That’s a bit strange…oh, I thought of a good one! Although “apologetic” might be more the word than guilty. You see, while I absolutely agree that the 2019 Cats was a travesty (please be proud of me for passing up the very easy opportunity of calling it a catastrophe), I – well, you know that song that Andrew Lloyd Weber and Taylor Swift co-wrote especially for the movie? That “Beautiful Ghosts” one? Well, I – er – rather like that song. I am sorry. Please forgive me.
A song that often gets stuck in your head
I’m Gonna Be Strong by Gene Pitney
This is rather funny, actually…I wouldn’t call it an extraordinarily catchy song, but I’m constantly going “I’ll smile and say, ‘Don’t you worry; I’m fine,'” in my best Gene Pitney voice with absolutely no provocation, so I guess it counts.
A song that reminds you of someone
Well, many Bob Dylan songs remind me of a few of my brothers, as they are currently rather obsessed with Mr. Dylan’s music…(my brother Herbert has one of his songs playing in the background right now as I edit this post, as a matter of fact.)
A song that reminds you of someplace
Call to Remembrance by Richard Farrant
Well, this doesn’t just remind me of a place…it reminds me of youth choir practices, to be precise. But those always happened in the church basement, so we can say that counts, right?
A song that reminds you of a certain event
Billy, Don’t Be a Hero by Paper Lace
This is very random…but for some reason, when I was eight or so I was obsessed with this song. It especially reminds me of a birthday of mine on which I played this song four times in rather rapid succession while driving with my dad to get pizza…I also remember excitedly telling my grandmother afterwards that I had listened to it four times. (I did warn you this would be very random.)
(Listening to this now, I’m wondering if my eight-year-old self knew just how depressing this song is…)
A song you know all the words to
Stars from Les Misérables
And so it must BE!!
A song you could dance to
How about this one? 🙂
A song that makes you fall asleep
I’m not sure I can think of a song that actually makes me fall asleep…but this one is certainly very soothing:
Ar Hyd y nos by Bryn Terfel
A song from your favorite band
But…but…I have many favorite bands. Okay, here’s the rule from now on: when the question says “favorite,” what I choose will not necessarily be my absolute number 1 favorite, because that is simply impossible to choose. It will just be “something I very much like.” Sound good? Lovely.
I’ll go with I’ll Never Find Another You by The Seekers, since I’ve had quite the soft spot for The Seekers since I was about ten.
A song from a band you hate
Hate’s a strong word…well, I guess I’ll go with Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones. I don’t hate the Rolling Stones, but I don’t like them. They just seem to exude a gross vibe to me.
A song nobody would expect you to love
Teenage Rampage by Sweet
This is a much louder sort of song than I usually like. But…well…I don’t know. I just find it fun. (The lyrics are probably silly; it seems to be one of those teenage rebellion type songs…but I never bother to listen to most of the lyrics, so that solves that.)
A song that describes you
Goodness, I don’t know… “Sunny Disposish,” sometimes? “The Best Is Yet to Come,” we hope?
An underrated song more people should love
So, I mentioned the 1987 movie of A Child’s Christmas in Wales in my post about Christmas movies. There’s this really pretty Christmas carol they sing toward the end called “On to Bethlehem Town,” which I’ve never heard of anywhere else, and when we tried to find it later on Youtube, we could only find obscure, not-that-great versions of it. (Which means, by-the-by, that if you form an unfavorable impression of it just from the version I linked, it’s not necessarily the song’s fault.) So I definitely think that one deserves more recognition.
A song that you often hear on the radio
For some reason, I feel like I don’t hear songs repeatedly on the radio that much (maybe the fact that I only listen to oldies stations has something to do with that?)…I’ve heard “Where Were You When I Needed You” by the Grass Roots twice…does that count?
A song you wish you heard on the radio
Rattler by The Seekers
As aforementioned, I have a soft spot for The Seekers, and for this song. (We listen to this song every night, as a matter of fact.)
A song you listen to when you’re happy
I don’t knoww…I’ve listened to lots of songs when I’m happy. I’ll just choose a random song I like: I Will Follow Him by Peggy March.
A song you listen to when you’re sad
If I Had a Talking Picture of You from “The World of Jeeves and Wooster” album
Because it cheers me up and helps me not to be sad.
A song you listen to when you’re angry
Well, I can’t really recall many times that I played music while being angry…but I’d probably get on something I especially like to calm me down, or maybe something soothing, like Pachelbel’s Canon.
A song you want to play at your wedding
During the actual wedding itself, or for the wedding dance? Because that makes a difference, you see. “O God Beyond All Praising” might be a good one for during the wedding itself, since it’s a lovely hymn that suits just about any occasion. For the wedding dance, I was actually just recently thinking that it would be rather nice to have “Everywhere You Go” by Guy Lombardo… it’s a very sweet song and quite appropriate to the occasion, and just a song I’m very fond of.
A song you want to play at your funeral
Goodness, that changed vibes quickly…do you know, I have never considered what songs I would want at my funeral. Perhaps “What Wondrous Love Is This?” It is one of my favorite hymns. And you know, now that I’m thinking of the lyrics, I think it would actually be a very fitting – but very hopeful – song to play at a funeral.
A song that makes you laugh
Well, I can’t think of any songs off the top of my head that actually make me laugh…I don’t laugh easily, you see (or at least, I don’t laugh at things that actually deserve it…if I just see something random, like a very big log in a very little yard or even just someone walking extra buoyantly, that makes me laugh)… I think I’ll just choose “Yoda” by Weird Al Yankovic. I don’t remember if it’s actually made me laugh, but I do think it’s funny.
A song that you can play
Bring Him Home from Les Misérables
I play it a goodish bit higher than the original, though. While the original is quite high for a man’s voice, it is not quite high for a violin.
A song you wish you could play
Csárdás by Vittorio Monti
Isn’t it utter gorgeousness?? I actually own the sheet music…I’ve learned the first quarter or half page…but I’m not currently taking lessons and I’m a little intimidated of trying to learn the rest of it on my own.
A song from your childhood
A – You’re Adorable by John Lithgow
This whole album reminds me of my childhood, actually. (Don’t you love the feeling of listening to something you haven’t heard in years, but used to hear all the time? It’s like slipping on a pair of gloves you forgot you owned but which fit just right.)
Your favorite duet
See above regarding ‘favorite’ questions.
I think I’ll go with Never Gonna Let You Go by Sergio Mendes (which is in fact a duet – and apparently Sergio Mendes himself isn’t singing at all? It’s complicated). My brother Noddy introduced me to this song a month or so ago – he’d seen some video talking about how it was the most complex pop song ever (apparently there are sixteen key changes?) – and had become quite fond of it. Now I’ve become quite fond of it too.
Your favorite song at this time of year
There aren’t that many mid-January songs, are there? …
Okay, this doesn’t quite fit, but here: Four Strong Winds by Ian and Sylvia. This is a bit of a cop-out answer, since I actually almost never listen to this song…but my brain is not helping me on this at all, so it’ll have to do.
Well, hurray! It took me much too long to do, but it is finished at last.
For the 30 song tag, I tag:
…and anyone else who wants to grab the tag!
Here’s a clean list of the questions for you:
Your favorite song
Your least favorite song
A song that makes you happy
A song that makes you sad
A song that makes you feel guilty
A song that often gets stuck in your head
A song that reminds you of someone
A song that reminds you of someplace
A song that reminds you of a certain event
A song you know all the words to
A song you could dance to
A song that makes you fall asleep
A song from your favorite band
A song from a band you hate
A song nobody would expect you to love
A song that describes you
An underrated song more people should love
A song that you often hear on the radio
A song you wish you heard on the radio
A song you listen to when you’re happy
A song you listen to when you’re sad
A song you listen to when you’re angry
A song you want to play at your wedding
A song you want to play at your funeral
A song that makes you laugh
A song that you can play
A song you wish you could play
A song from your childhood
Your favorite duet
Your favorite song at this time of year
Thank you. I can’t wait to do it.
You’re quite welcome; I look forward to seeing your answers!
Wow, this is a long tag! And I didn’t recognize most of the songs you listed, but you’ve definitely given me a hankering to listen to “Bring Him Home” again…that didn’t used to be one of my favorite songs from Les Mis, but as I’ve gotten older, it’s wormed its way under my skin.
It is, isn’t it? (I began thinking “how many songs are in this tag, anyway?” partway through writing it…major facepalm there :P)
You know, I think Bring Him Home is that kind of song that slowly grows on you…it can seem like nothing special at first, but as you hear it more you realize how beautiful it is. And I think it’s also the sort of song where who performs it can make a big difference in how much you like it…I don’t care for everybody’s version of it, but I think Colm Wilkinson’s in the 10th Anniversary is absolutely gorgeous <3
Aha! It is done! And I forget whether I have even said thankyou yet🤔 That is dreadful of me. I know I’ve thought it half a dozen times already, so hopefully I did…. But anyways, to be on the safe side, Thankyou!!! I had a blast with it, and scribbled faaaaaaar into the night just for the joy of doing so (;
And furthermore, I must needs jump up and down delightedly over discovering Randy Travis on your list too😜 I must admit, he and Ian Tyson were the only names I recognized, so I can’t wait to finish checking these out!
Well, you are most welcome, in any case! But oh dear, I hope I have not tampered with your sleep too much…even the joy of scribbling can’t have quite the same effect as a good eight hours of sleep, can it?
Yes!! Those are my scanty little tributes to country here 😛 I’m not too surprised you haven’t heard the rest, since my preferred musical genre seems to be “obscure and very old”…
Not at all😜 A good scribble is a thoroughly worthy cause, and at times, to be preferred over sleep (; At least, that’s how I justify my scribble sessions to myself😜 And it seems to work!
Ahh, but such tributes (;
Otherwise known as hidden treasures and rich antiquities, if they were not music!
Well, perhaps scribbling refreshes the imagination in the same way that sleep refreshes the body…so perhaps we can say it comes to much the same thing 😉
That’s right…quality over quantity and all that. Ooh, I like that way of thinking of it!
Awesome job Lizzie, I love your songs choices! The Seekers are so great aren’t they? And you’ve got a Les Mis song too!! Looking forward to listening to your songs closer and hopefully finding some new favorites!!
Thank you! Aren’t they? I love ’em <3 And what music list would be complete without Les Mis?
Aw, wonderful! I hope you do find some new favorites 🙂