Bad Parenting Tips
My older daughter is at an age where she's interested in "pop stars" and their "music." I recently took the girls to Border's and allowed them, as a treat, to pick out a couple of CDs for themselves. Cashew, my older daughter, picked Hannah Montana and Aly and AJ. Peanut, who is younger and thus more willing to be guided by me, picked Allison Krauss.
Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against Hannah, Aly, and AJ. They're harmless and fun, and Aly and AJ even play their own instruments. But I'll actually sit down and listen to Allison Krauss. I don't have time to make my praise sound original, so I'll settle for understatement. Allison Krauss is a talented musician with a lovely voice.
My favorite track on Peanut's Allison Krauss CD is "The Scarlet Tide." You can listen here, but you'll have to endure one of those cheesy Youtube video tributes to the Harry Potter movies. Just click and close your eyes.
Peanut's favorite track, however, seems to be "Whiskey Lullaby," whose chorus she has taken to singing with eyes closed and face gently contorted with the pain of heartbreak and loss.
Here are the lyrics to "Whiskey Lullaby":
"She put him out, like the burnin' end of a midnight cigarette
She broke his heart he spent his whole life tryin' to forget
We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time
But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind
Until the night
1st Chorus
He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away her memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the strength he had to get up off his knees
We found him with his face down in the pillow
With a note that said I'll love her till I die
And when we buried him beneath the willow
The angels sang a whiskey lullaby
(Sing lullaby)
The rumors flew, but nobody know how much she blamed herself
For years and years she tried to hide the whiskey on her breath
She finally drank her pain away a little at a time
But she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind
Until the night
2nd Chorus
She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away his memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the strength she had to get up off her knees
We found her with her face down in the pillow
Clinging to his picture for dear life
We laid her next to him beneath the willow
While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby
(Sing lullaby)"
My sense of it is that she has no idea what she's singing, in the same way that Wonderdog and I and the rest of our siblings used, in complete innocence, to belt out the lyrics to "Cecilia" in the back seat of our mother's Pontiac station wagon during the eight track era.
I'm a big believer in parental censorship, of course, but I've found that I tend to relax the censorship rules the more the content approaches real art. The ship has already sailed on this one, but I'm starting to wonder whether my standards for art may be a little lax.
What's your opinion? Please chime in.
And by that I mean "Tell me that you agree with me."
Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against Hannah, Aly, and AJ. They're harmless and fun, and Aly and AJ even play their own instruments. But I'll actually sit down and listen to Allison Krauss. I don't have time to make my praise sound original, so I'll settle for understatement. Allison Krauss is a talented musician with a lovely voice.
My favorite track on Peanut's Allison Krauss CD is "The Scarlet Tide." You can listen here, but you'll have to endure one of those cheesy Youtube video tributes to the Harry Potter movies. Just click and close your eyes.
Peanut's favorite track, however, seems to be "Whiskey Lullaby," whose chorus she has taken to singing with eyes closed and face gently contorted with the pain of heartbreak and loss.
Here are the lyrics to "Whiskey Lullaby":
"She put him out, like the burnin' end of a midnight cigarette
She broke his heart he spent his whole life tryin' to forget
We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time
But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind
Until the night
1st Chorus
He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away her memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the strength he had to get up off his knees
We found him with his face down in the pillow
With a note that said I'll love her till I die
And when we buried him beneath the willow
The angels sang a whiskey lullaby
(Sing lullaby)
The rumors flew, but nobody know how much she blamed herself
For years and years she tried to hide the whiskey on her breath
She finally drank her pain away a little at a time
But she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind
Until the night
2nd Chorus
She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away his memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the strength she had to get up off her knees
We found her with her face down in the pillow
Clinging to his picture for dear life
We laid her next to him beneath the willow
While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby
(Sing lullaby)"
My sense of it is that she has no idea what she's singing, in the same way that Wonderdog and I and the rest of our siblings used, in complete innocence, to belt out the lyrics to "Cecilia" in the back seat of our mother's Pontiac station wagon during the eight track era.
I'm a big believer in parental censorship, of course, but I've found that I tend to relax the censorship rules the more the content approaches real art. The ship has already sailed on this one, but I'm starting to wonder whether my standards for art may be a little lax.
What's your opinion? Please chime in.
And by that I mean "Tell me that you agree with me."
posted by Kate Marie | 8:50 AM | Permalink
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4 comments
4 Comments:
Dear Kate Marie,
I think I saw a couple of Muppets act out this song on an old episode of Sesame Street back in the day when Poopypuppy would still condescend to watch it, so it must be art!
I can't believe your parents let you guys listen to "Cecilia," though. That has far more corrupting potential than a ballad about two people that slowly drink themselves to death.
In other words- I agree with you.
Thanks, Madman! I knew you'd see it my way. :)
My favorite Sesame Street performance, by the way, is Ernie and Aaron Neville singing that song about the moon.
It just occurred to me, though, that I consider "The Godfather" a work of art, but Peanut isn't going to be seeing *that* anytime soon.
I recommend Chamillionaire's "Ridin' Dirty", followed by Weird Al's paradoy, "White and Nerdy", with a 1/2 hour discussion on the two. Hey, your trash is my art!
PS Of course I agree with you. I'm just a Stepford Blogger.
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