Day Two
At school, I was a shy kid. It's hard to imagine now if you meet me in person. These days, I'm loud, talkative, and opinionated, but as a child not so much. I was quiet and withdrawn, often lost in my own thoughts. I could go entire school weeks without ever opening my mouth. My Mom used to accuse me of saving it all up for when I came home, because when I did… I went wild. The mousy school girl image dropped the moment my feet left the last step of the school bus, and I became who my family knew as M.H., a wild, hyper-active, over-imaginative loud mouth.
My mouth was so loud, in fact, that no amount of talking could project the volume that was aching to come out. So I started to sing. I sang alone, in the woods, in my room, in the shower, anywhere and everywhere so long as it was not school. To this day, I spend a large portion of my time alone singing, but these days I am not so shy. You can even catch me singing loudly through the park, a crowded store, or on my way through a parking lot.
Last year, my husband and I took the show on the road, and began writing music together and playing out. We even recorded a one song demo. I've always written little songs of words and melody. I think the first was penned in 6th grade, but setting them to guitar and piano is a pleasure I had only ever imagined until now. Singing in front of a crowd thrills me. It's terrifying and wonderful at the same time, like a really great rollercoaster.
To celebrate my favorite thing to do, (I confess it is the one I prefer over cooking and eating) I've created a playlist of my favorite songs to sing. These are songs from my childhood, songs that I enjoy singing alone, and songs that I have performed in public. They are the playlist of my mouth. Check them out one by one, or listen to the whole thing on Spotify.
These two songs were played over and over and over when I was a kid. I sang along to the CD's, my Dad played them on the piano, and I rocked them in full geeky accapella every moment in between.
- Little Earthquakes – Tori Amos
- Blood and Fire – Indigo Girls
- Adam and Eve – Ani Difranco
- I'm on Fire – Bruce Springsteen
Some of my pre-teen and teenage favorites, many of which were pilfered from my older sister's collection.
My karaoke hit list. I used to sing "Respect" while I bar tended in a sushi/karaoke dive bar back in Connecticut. It won me many tips! "At Last" has a tender memory attached. It was the song I sang to my husband on our wedding night. In a strange twist of fate, it was in that very same dive bar so many years later.
Probably my favorite song that we cover. It's not all that challenging, but I really enjoy singing it.
Two of my favorite female artists at the moment. I would have really liked to add "Side of the Road" by Lucinda Williams, but it wasn't available on Spotify. That song made me cry when I saw her live. Incredible!
What can I say? I'm a sucker for old bible songs and Louis Armstrong. I'm actually learning "What a Wonderful World" on the piano right now. Getting to the point where I can sing it and play will be a glorious moment. I've set a rather ambitious goal for myself to get there before Christmas. Wish me luck. I'll need it.