Results: Songs My Father Sang
Published on 01/04/2024
Dad always seemed to have the radio playing popular music from his younger years. Especially singers. Music from eras when the vocalist was more important than the backup dancers or digital light shows. Tony Bennet. Andy Williams. Perry Como. Nat King Cole. Sinatra. Guys like that. He also had a strong affection for Novelty Songs from the 20s and 30s when he was a kid and the 50s and 60s when his kids were kids. These he would actually sing to us.
QUESTIONS
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Comments
1.
1.
So, while the other tykes in the neighborhood were struggling with the ABC Song, we were belting out "Mairzy Doats" and "Inka Dinka Doo" with flair. Do you remember any songs from this small sampling of Dad's personal Hit Parade?
"Mairzy Doats"
26%
527 votes
"Inka Dinka Doo" (aka "Skida-marinka-dinka-dink")
34%
689 votes
"Three Little Fishes" (Down in the meadow in an itty bitty pool)
19%
374 votes
"How Much is that Doggy in the Window"
54%
1070 votes
"I'm a Lonely Little Petunia (in an Onion Patch)"
9%
183 votes
"Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor (on the Bedpost Overnight)"
28%
567 votes
"Yes! We Have no Bananas"
38%
755 votes
"Second Hand Rose"
25%
498 votes
Not Applicable
33%
669 votes
2.
2.
Some songs were used as lullabies. Some were just for fun. Others were used to deliver a message. The Lonely Little Petunia might be sung to a pouty little girl. The first lines from the Frank Sinatra cover of "The Curse of a Lonely Heart" (You made me what I am today, I hope you're satisfied) toward anyone caught in the act spoiling a child or pet. Are you a Sinatra fan?
Yes
37%
738 votes
No
24%
489 votes
Undecided
19%
370 votes
Not Applicable
20%
403 votes
3.
3.
Dad loved songs about planes and flying- his lifelong passions. Some of the lyrics became part of our family's shorthand. A plan looks likely to crash and burn? Belt out "Listen, Teterboro Tower this is Piper 202." MacGuyvered repair jobs would result in "The Gooney Bird Song" directed at you: "They patch her up with masking tape, with paper clips and strings, and still she flies, she never dies. Methuselah with Wings." Have you ever patched something up with...
Masking tape
50%
990 votes
Paper Clips
22%
443 votes
Strings
21%
425 votes
Not Applicable
42%
834 votes
4.
4.
There were holiday favorites, too. He was an early fan of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer." And one of the few disappointments in his life must have been that none of us was ever missing our two front teeth at Christmas. Were you ever missing your front teeth at Christmas?
Yes
17%
334 votes
No
38%
752 votes
Undecided
25%
504 votes
Not Applicable
21%
410 votes
5.
5.
There's no clue as to how our conservative fifty-something father stumbled upon Dr. Demento's radio show, but he fell in love with Ogden Edsl's song "Dead Puppies" and bought the record. Mom was not amused, but his grown children were delighted. Sinatra would have understood why. Do you remember:
Ogden Edsl
5%
105 votes
Dr. Demento
19%
377 votes
"Dead Puppies"
5%
107 votes
Not Applicable
75%
1501 votes
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