Music to my ears

ANNE BARKER

The first thing I do each morning is turn on the radio. I listen to the news and any interesting interviews during breakfast and before leaving for work.

Once in my car and ready for the daily 45-minute drive, I again turn on the radio, but not for news. It's time to listen to great music and for that I depend on VOWR radio.

I'm the first to admit to having a poor memory, especially for faces. However, I find nothing brings back more memories than listening to VOWR's music programs. Perhaps it's because most of the volunteer announcers are retired and their selection of music spans many years. Whatever the reason, I'm one of their biggest fans and listening to their selections can quickly send me years back in time.

Driving alone, it's also my only chance to sing to my heart's content. Once I would sing anywhere, but now, thanks to years of smoking, the croaking noises that escape from my throat, would scare away even the least tuneful person.

I grew up hearing lots of music, but not from radios, record players or televisions. The radio was for news only; there were no televisions in my childhood days and the only people I knew with a wind-up gramophone were my grandparents. Unfortunately it was broken before I was old enough to appreciate music.

It was from my mother and grandmother that most of my earliest memories of music begin. My grandmother loved music, especially songs from the old time music halls and many of the comical ditties I remember came from her. My mother sang a lot as she did housework. Many women in her circumstances probably wouldn't have found a lot to sing about, but very often as I hear songs on VOWR today, they are ones I can recall my mother singing.

I also enjoyed music class in school. Most of the time was devoted to singing under the direction of Miss Shaw, our music teacher. We learned traditional Scottish songs as well as English, Irish and Welsh favourites, before going on to songs from many countries.

We were also introduced to operas, listening to them on records. The first opera I ever recall hearing was Carmen by Bizet. Today, I still love the music from Carmen and hearing it makes me remember the rapt faces of my school mates-even the boys who thought themselves pretty tough- as Miss Shaw first told us the story of Carmen and the toreador and then let us listen to the opera.

One of my most special musical memories goes back to when I was in school and attended a performance of the world famous Vienna Boys' Choir. It was the first appearance of the choir in Aberdeen and my school received several free tickets. I was lucky enough to get one and what a wonderful night I had listening to the choir. Today, when I hear 'Tales from the Vienna Woods' or Strauss waltzes, I am transported back in time to that concert.

The year I was 11years old, Miss Innes became my homeroom teacher. She was excellent at her job, having a knack for getting all her pupils interested in learning. We enjoyed classes for the three terms Miss Innes was our teacher, but our favourite time of all was Friday afternoons.

They became what we students soon called our fun days. Some times we had spelling bees or competitions in identifying capital cities, naming opposites or similes, completing proverbs and other word games. We thought they were great fun, not realizing we were learning all the time.

Perhaps once a month, Miss Innes had a performance afternoon, which might see all students giving individual recitations of Scottish or other poetry, reading from favourite books or performing a song. When it came time for singing, some of us had a 'party piece' which other students would request we sing once more.

My friend Annie always sang "It's Only a Shanty in Old Shanty Town," while Walter Slater's masterpiece was "The Shrimp Boats are Coming" I had two different selections, one of them courtesy of my grandmother. To this day, I've never ever heard it sung by anyone else. I don't even know the proper title; neither did my classmates. When it was my turn, they would say, "Sing Turned Up." The words are:

"Mary Ellen at the church turned up.

Her Ma turned up

And her Pa turned up,

Her rich old Uncle Bert

Her little sister Gert,

The parson with his long white shirt- turned up

But no bridegroom with a ring turned up.

But a telegraph boy with his nose turned up,

The telegram was read - it said

He didn't want to wed,

And they found him in the river with his toes turned up."

My second 'party piece' was 'The Railway Train' This was a song I learned from my mother. For many years I never thought about it until I happened to hear it recently on the radio. The words were slightly changed and the tune a little different in places, but it was still my song.

"When you're on a railway train, never look out of the window pane.

I did once to my regret; I'll never do it again.

It was just like this you see, one of the passengers said to me,

"You might look out of the window and see when the train will go off."

I looked out of the window, my hat it blew away,

I stooped down to pick it up like an idiotic jay,

My trousers they were tight - and burst! The passengers from behind said,

"Oh what a short shirt you have on, you'd better pull down the blind"

As Bugs Bunny used to say, "That's all folks" at least for this month. It's getting harder all the time to come up with ideas for this column. So come on some of you more mature people out there. I am sure you have some great "Speaking from Experience" ideas. I for one would love to hear them.

abarker@thepacket.ca

Anne Barker is a reporter with the Packet in Bonavista

Next week: Dennis Squires writes