All right I confess, I love to sing. Now I’m not saying I’m very good at it, but I do like to belt out a good tune. This was demonstrated last Sunday. It was a gorgeous, sunny autumn day and I was in my car, alone, driving to see a friend when Uptown Funk (Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars) came on the radio. Now I defy anyone not to sing and groove to this tune. It has one of those beats that speaks directly to my body, by-passing the brain and before I knew it I was tapping my hand on the steering wheel, doing a bit of a shoulder shimmy and singing at the top of my lungs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPf0YbXqDm0
I don’t care that there are people in cars next to me who may think I’m a complete loony. I actually suspect that some of them might have a good laugh when we’re stopped at traffic lights together, but that’s ok. I’m glad to give them something to smile about. This love of singing dates way back to when I was a kid. I remember amusing myself in the lounge room when my sister was at school (I must have been about four), listening to Mum and Dad’s cassettes. They had Chris de Burgh and the song Don’t Pay the Ferryman used to creep me out a little, but I’d act out ferrying across a river while I sang; there was Michael Jackson’s Thriller album (again a little scary, especially with a chimney behind me that ghouls could climb down) and Harry Belafonte. Perhaps my eclectic taste in music came from them!
Then as I grew older, my sister and I would dance around our bedroom, singing into our hairbrushes. I know Kylie Minogue (I Should Be So Lucky), Madonna (True Blue & Like a Virgin) and New Kids on the Block were firm favourites. I also clearly remember the dance moves to Bananarama’s Love in the First Degree. My sister, a friend and I would stand on the start blocks at the local public pool singing the first verse, doing all of the moves and then after finishing the first chorus, we’d dive in unison into the pool. (I wonder if I can get them to re-enact it with me…)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iiy5HO4VKEA
As we got older, we’d rope in all our friends and give concerts to our long suffering parents. I recall the excitement when a friend was given a microphone that worked via the radio, which meant not only could we look like real singers, but we could sing LOUDER!! The concerts would go until our parents finally had enough and told us it was time for bed!
I guess it comes as no surprise to learn that when I discovered the Singstar game on PlayStation I was SO excited. I could sing into a microphone and get all of the words right. It was just like karaoke! (I’ll leave my karaoke tales to another day…)
So do you have a favourite song which always gets you singing?
