Personal blog of christian
writer & fallible mom
Katy McKenna Raymond
in Kansas City, Missouri
Katy is represented by
Greg Johnson at
WordServe Literary
Read more Katy at
LateBoomer.net
Recent Posts
- Try
- Becoming Brenda Starr
- Off Beat
- Scattered
- That’s It
- So I’ve Finally Signed With An Agent. Now What?
- The Spoon
- Sciatica
- Sweetheart
- A Woman’s Train of Thought Has No Caboose
- However much we own, we are all still living on borrowed time
- After all, when restaurants shrink portions, they don’t shrink prices.
- As with everything in life, balance is key.
- Slow down, you move too fast…
- Yeah, I know. I have issues.
Syndicate
E me at katy @ ngenius.com
Bing, Not Bling
Doug and I were out and about this morning, staying one step ahead of the snow storm. On the road, we got to talking about some of our favorite feel good songs of all time.
I mentioned “Till There Was You,” which the Beatles recorded back in the day, but which was of course a redux, having been originally performed on Broadway in the Music Man. All in all, not THAT much of an oldie, when you’re as old as we are. Sigh.
Then Doug started singing one of his all-time faves, kind of serenading me now that I look back on it, in his deep crooning voice.
“She may be weary—women do get weary…”
“Oh, no….” I groaned. “Don’t tell me she’s STILL—-”
“...Wearing the same shabby dress….”
“Noooo. It reminds me too much of Glen Campbell singing ‘these are the dreams of the everyday housewife.’ Do we have to go THERE?”
“And when she’s weary,” he sang, “try a little tenderness.”
“You know what I think?” I interrupted his vocal reverie. “If she’s so weary, wearing the same shabby dress—”
And then, we both said the identical words at the EXACT same time.
“Buy her a freakin’ new dress!”
We laughed till we cried. When we got home, I looked up the song and found that Bing Crosby recorded it in 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression. When he sang about “shabby,” he didn’t mean “shabby chic.” He just meant shabby, and a whole lot of it. The rest of the lyric is very touching, and I have now repented of my disgust for the man who thought a little tenderness would get him off the dress-buying hook.
“You know she’s waiting, just anticipating
Things she may never possess;
While she’s without them, try a little tenderness.
It’s not just sentimental,
She has her grief and care,
And a word that’s soft and gentle,
Makes it easier to bear.
You won’t regret it—women don’t forget it;
Love is their whole happiness.
It’s all so easy—try a little tenderness.”
Any old, sweet songs you’re singing today?
- Not too old, really. "New York State of Mind," by Billy Joel, has been in my head all day, because I'm doing research for my book. (Set in NYC of course.)
Posted by Suzan on 11/30/06 at 04:52 PM
- OK. Now I'm singing "Deep in the eyes of a New York woman...." I can't help this feelin', baby. ;)
Posted by Katy on 11/30/06 at 05:27 PM
- that's what I'm talkin' about - a little retail therapy
Posted by Tess on 11/30/06 at 10:31 PM
- Funny you should ask because I can't get Tupelo Honey (Van Morrison) out of my mind and it segues into Crazy Love (the duet with Van and Ray Charles).
I have Try a Little Tenderness in my iTunes library. I never knew it was recorded by Bing Crosby!Posted by AC on 12/01/06 at 06:46 AM - Not old, but sweet. Jesus in New Orleans by Over the Rhine. And Mushaboom by Feist. Nothing like songs of the season to get me in a Christmas decorating mood.
xoPosted by Jeanne Damoff on 12/01/06 at 10:49 AM - Thank you all for these great songs. I actually love it when I get a song stuck in my head and can't get it out, cause it's usually a freakin' fantastic song. OK, everyone once in a while I lapse into Mac Davis singing "Baby, baby, don't get hooked on me...I'll just use you then I'll set you free..." I have NO idea why!!!
Posted by Katy on 12/06/06 at 06:06 PM
