May 1: The springtime all in gladness… “Now Is The Month of Maying” written by Thomas Morley in 1595 and sung by The King’s Singers. LYRICS & MUSIC (sung by The Cambridge Singers) SPOTIFY
May 2: I wouldn’t need no sneakers… “If I Had A Boat” by Lyle Lovett. I apologize for the slightly profane language in verse 2, but I love this song too much not to share. LYRICS & SONGFACTS CHORDS SPOTIFY
May 3: I’ll hold my ears say… “La Di Da” by Lennon Stella. LYRICS & CHORDS SPOTIFY
May 4: I have to celebrate you… “Praise You” by Fatboy Slim (a.k.a. Norman Cook); this song features a prominent vocal sample from the opening of “Take Yo’ Praise” by Camille Yarbrough. So proud of you, B. Propp; you’ve come a long way, baby. LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY
May 5: Vamos a bailar! “El Noa Noa” by Juan Gabriel in honor of Cinco De Mayo. Thanks to Billboard for the suggestion! LYRICS & TRANSLATION SPOTIFY
May 6: I came away with a different point of view… “A Boy Named Sue” written by Shel Silverstein and sung by Johnny Cash. Once again, please pardon any inappropriate lyrics; this song is too good to pass up. LYRICS & SONGFACTS CHORDS SPOTIFY
May 7: You did just what I thought you were gonna do… “One Week” written by Ed Robertson and performed by the Barenaked Ladies. Thanks, Alex, for treating us to this show and for more than one week’s worth of good memories. xo LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY
May 8: Even children get older… “Landslide” written by Stevie Nicks and performed by Fleetwood Mac. Happy birthday to Lori Gazerro & Beth Heroux! LYRICS & SONGFACTS CHORDS SPOTIFY
May 9: Whenever you’re in trouble… “Stand By Me” sung by Ben E. King. LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY
May 10: All the live-long day… “I’ve Been Workin’ On The Railroad” a traditional song originally published as “Levee Song” in 1894. The First Transcontinental Railway was completed on this day in 1869. SONG HISTORY LYRICS & CHORDS SPOTIFY
May 11: I hope you had the time of your life… “Good Riddance” by Billie Joe Armstrong and Green Day. Congrats and love to our wonderfully adorable, smart and kind Husky and his equally lovable friends. xoxo. LYRICS & SONGFACTS CHORDS SPOTIFY
May 12: I never worry ’cause… “Mama Said” written by some of the Brill Building/1650 Broadway folks in about 1961 and sung here by The Shirelles. Happy Mothers Day to anyone who’s ever helped a kid out by giving extra love and saying the right thing when needed… (and a special shout-out to my mom, Ruthie; I love you). LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY
May 13: What did I do to be so “Black and Blue” by Fats Waller and sung by Louis Armstrong. Thanks to new subscriber, Herb Levine, for the suggestion. (Dear Herb and all… if you like Fats Waller, you may enjoy watching the animated movie Jazztime Tale, one of my kids’ favorite movies from their elementary school days.) LYRICS SONG HISTORY SPOTIFY
May 14: Imagine how the world could be so very fine… “Happy Together” written by Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon and sung by The Turtles. Happy belated birthday to Helen Rauh Glenn; thanks for the suggestion! LYRICS & SONGFACTS CHORDS SPOTIFY
May 15: You know who you are… “1234” by Feist (written by Feist & Sally Seitmann). Happy Birthday to Megan McConaughy Lucier who introduced me to this song in a fabulous playlist oh-so-many years ago. LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY
May 16: Beep-beep-em-beep-beep-yeah! “Baby, You Can Drive My Car” by Paul McCartney and John Lennon and performed live. Happy Birthday to my wonderfully kind and fun nephew Owen; so proud of you! (And happy anniversary to Cindy & Tom; stay tuned tomorrow.) LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY
May 17: I don’t know if it’s cloudy or bright… “I Only Have Eyes For You” by Harry Warren and Al Dubin and sung by The Flamingos (with an “i”.. pardon the egregious typo in the video; other than that typo it was the best video that I could find). Happy Birthday to our cousin Claudia Robaina & our friend Josh Margolis and happy (belated) anniversary to our friends Cindy & Tom (thanks for the fabulous suggestion)! LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY
May 18: Show me to the wisdom of an evening star…“Beautiful Dawn” by Ruth Moody and The Wailin Jennys. Thanks, Helen, for another beautiful suggestion. xo LYRICS & CHORDS SPOTIFY
May 19: Sing me your tune… “Rosie” by John Mayer. Happy Birthday to the beautiful, kind, smart and fun Rose Propp & her soul sister and my “big sister”, Alison King; you two make me smile…. LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY
May 20: You’ll never get rid of the ***, no matter what you do! “The Thing” with lyrics by Charles Randolph Grean put to a traditional melody called “The Lincolnshire Poacher” and sung here by Phil Harris. Happy Birthday to my very fun father, Larry and his wonderful twin brother, Kenny! LYRICS SONG HISTORY SPOTIFY
May 21: Bigger, brighter, bolder, better… “Raise Your Voice” from Sister Act with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater). Thanks to Nan Bacharach for the suggestion; I wish I’d seen you in the show! LYRICS SPOTIFY
May 22: Like the wind and the rain… “Wagon Wheel” in memory of Brian Gordon, whose birthday is today, and with love from his mom, Claire. The chorus and melody for the song comes from a demo recorded by Bob Dylan; Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show added verses to Dylan’s unfinished song. For Darius Rucker’s version, visit the singdaily.com Song of the Day for 3/23/18. To all the Gordons and all of Brian’s friends & family: sending love. LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY
May 23: Will it be yes or will it be sorry? “I Don’t Want To Wait” by Paula Cole. LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY
May 24: Keep partying like it’s your job… “Play Hard” by David Guetta, featuring Ne-Yo & Akon. LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY
May 25: They’re really saying: “I Love You”… “What a Wonderful World” by Bob Thiele (as “George Douglas”) and George David Weiss and performed by PLAYING FOR CHANGE. Happy birthday to my wonderful friend, colleague & mentor (in teaching & gardening & life in general), Estelle Mackenzie. LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY
May 26: There is this moment when you feel that you’re in an ocean of your own butterflies… “Rollercoaster” by Tank and The Bangas. Happy Birthday to Mannasses Young Ogutu; 20? What?! LYRICS SPOTIFY
May 27: When will they ever learn? “Where Have All The Flowers Gone” by Pete Seeger and sung here by The Kingston Trio and in honor of all the people who died while serving in the U.S. military; we remember you and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making the ultimate sacrifice for our country. LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY
May 28: All the bad things disappear… “I Don’t Care” by Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber. LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY
May 29: It made me someone… “Home” by Kobi Marimi. Welcome home, B; we missed you. xo LYRICS SPOTIFY
May 30: Cool, cool, kitty… “Boy From New York City” written by George Davis & John T. Taylor and sung here in 1981 by The Manhattan Transfer. The song was originally recorded by The Ad Libs and produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1965, the year our friend Betsy Morris was born on this day. We will forever miss Betsy but she lives on and on and on in our hearts (we all fell in love with her with just one glance). (Also, HB to Susan Terry and Happy Anniversary to Greg & Dana.) LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY
May 31: Bring out all the love you hide… “Georgy Girl” written by Tom Springfield and Jim Dale and sung by The Seekers. Happy 45th Anniversary to the Swinging ‘Gates of Colgate University and thanks to Billy Corson for arranging this one for us back in the early 80’s; we still love singing it! LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY