My Misunderstood Lyrics (Funny Songs, Pt. 1)

How funny it is to misunderstand song lyrics! I've been doing it all my life. Are you like me...do you find out the correct words, and still sing the wrong ones? Don't you wish you could go back to the ignorance of not knowing what they're supposed to really be saying?

There will be several posts on this topic. This first one is comprised of a list dear to my heart, songs whose lyrics I enjoyed misunderstanding from an early age.

1. "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight," by England Dan and John Ford Coley. This song has stood the test of time, making me laugh every time I hear it. Early on, instead of the correct, "I'm not talking 'bout moving in...," I'd bellow, "I'm not talkin' 'bout the Liberty Bell!" Don't ask; there's no explanation. 

England Dan and John Ford Coley had some great hits!

I love "We'll Never Have to Say Goodbye" and "Love is the Answer," too.

2. "Man in the Mirror," by Michael Jackson. There's no way he's really saying "And no message could've been any clearer." For thirty-two years, it's been "And no mustache for the man and the clipper," and I'm not about to stop now! 

3. "Ready Yourselves," by Casting Crowns. This band has some terrific contemporary Christian songs, but I couldn't figure out why they were repeating, "Radio says...radio says!" I wondered what that had to do with Jesus, but figured I was missing something. How relieved I felt when local DJ Carol Davis admitted to thinking that they said the same thing!

4. "Ain't No Woman," by The Four Tops. This wasn't my error, but my friend's mom's, affectionately called "Mammy." When we were kids, she'd sing, "Ain't No Woman Like Louella Potts," and we'd laugh our heads off. Now, my children and I listen to it on Pandora and sing the same wrong words, on purpose! Gotta love preserving laughs for posterity.

5. "The Star Spangled Banner," by Francis Scott Key. This also wasn't mine, but I loved how Beverly Cleary wrote about it in Ramona the Pest, and again, my children and I talk about it to this day. On the first day of kindergarten, Ramona is puzzled by the lyrics, "By the dawnzer lee light." She concludes that a "dawnzer" is a fancy word for lamp, and even uses it to impress her family, stating that her sister should "...turn on the dawnzer...it gives a lee light."

Sincerest apologies to Frank Key!

Chidren are precious.

6. "Breaking Up is Hard to Do," by Neil Sedaka. My dad was always listening to oldies, so I was, too. He taught me who sang what, and in what year. To this day, I remember all about Frankie Avalon, Bobby Vee, and all the rest. Anyway, I couldn't figure out why Neil told his love, "Don't take your love away from me. Don't you leave my heart in Missouri."

7. "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." At a very young age, maybe three, I remember making up my own words to this song. My heart was entirely childlike, not intending in the least to denigrate the meaning. At the place where one would normally sing, "His truth is marching on," I'd croon at the top of my lungs, "He's in his booster seat!" This still makes me cackle, as in my mind, the "he" in my line was a rooster! As I said, children are precious.

8. Finally, my favorite...all because Barry Manilow boasted, "I write the songs that make the whole world sing!" For making such a bold claim, I took him seriously. I actually believed that Barry Manilow wrote every song the whole world sang, including "Happy Birthday"! I told my friends, "I know who wrote 'Happy Birthday;' it was Barry Manilow!" How disappointed I was to find out that Barry wasn't quite the composer I'd thought, although his songs are satisfactory enough. 

Sorry, he can't take credit for "Happy Birthday," but

did you know that he did write

"And like a good neighbor, State Farm is there!"

Stay tuned over the next week or so for the list of the people. I asked you all to give me your misunderstood song lyrics, and will publish them in another post. I'm still open to suggestions (appropriate, please)....

"Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord," Ephesians 5:19.

Thank You, Lord, for songs, joy, and laughter!

Around the Neighborhood

We moved to our current home 13 months ago, leaving a busy, loud road for a quiet, tucked-away dead end. This is an old neighborhood with fairly new folks. It's a pleasant place to be quarantined.

The kids have made a campsite in the woods between our house and the neighbors'. It's a spot to roast marshmallows, lounge in a hammock, and hear the hooting owl at night. We've had dinner parties outside with our friends next door, once with hamburgers, another time with Cuban food, and tonight with pizza. This has been the perfect excuse to enjoy fresh air and get to know these folks. What a blessing to live beside these kind, trustworthy people. 

I've come to enjoy everyday walks. I attempted this before the quarantine, realizing that I needed to move around in fresh air at least a little every day. Lately, God has invited me to think during my walks at my own pace. No ideas are forced; I'm free to stare up at the trees the whole time if I want. Some days it takes me at least once around the neighborhood to come down from the jumbled thoughts firing through my brain. The Lord always gets me to a place of refreshment.

This is one of my favorite places in the neighborhood: 

a fun gravel path to travel.

While I was on my walk one day, I was astounded at the burst of spring color. It was so beautiful; a gift from God in the midst of a strange time. He never changes; Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). I'm grateful for the predictability of spring's blooming flowers, as certain as the sun's rising every new morning. In the quiet early afternoon, as I stopped to gaze at the markers of new life, I wanted to share them with you.

Here's what it has looked like around the neighborhood: 

I love this arbor behind our house, where very sour grapes will grow in summer. The red of the maple and azalea add a warm burst of color when I pass by.

The white azaleas and tree on the right are in our front yard, near the street.

A neighbor's tree. Behind it is a bog, a wildlife preserve that remains untouched.

A friend stops me in my tracks!

How many pictures of azaleas can one person take? Around here, not enough. 

I never tire of looking at them.

Case in point:

They are in every yard, some big, some small, some one color, others multicolored. 

Look at this one!

At our friends' next door. 

Blue Moon Phlox beside our house

I love these two maple sisters!

And this tree...the bark pieces are huge!

I had a chuckle as I passed it the other day, remembering.

My friend Jennie and I would pull bark off trees in her yard, and

Mr. Braswell whose yard backed up to hers would rebuke us.

"Girls, why are you pulling the bark off the trees?" he said,

more than once. Now I know the answer:

"Because we're little girls, doing kid things!"

Remember the gravel path? This is what I found there today.

I don't think these flowers had bloomed yet yesterday!

And wonderful, fun Dave and Lynette. As another neighbor put it, their yard is an arboretum! 

Their daffodils, and then...

...this is beside those daffodils!

The people in this neighborhood are as life-giving as the creation. Here is someone who is sure to brighten my walk. If I don't see him on the street with his mom Karen, he's lounging on his front steps when I pass. Again, there's that predictability! 

It's Toby! He's such a sweet ole boy.

And today, when I returned home, I noticed this, the first

iris of the year! Just in time for Easter.

Thank You, Lord, for sending Christ to complete every jot and tittle.

Let us rest in his declaration, "Tetelestai!"

It is finished!