Inheritance Tracks
Oh, this one is a winner. The music that shaped us and songs for the next generation. What is the song that you think your parents have left to you, and the one that you would leave to the next generation? What do your choices say about you?
When I was growing up in the 1950-60's my dad was a great embarrassment to me as a would be Frank Sinatra and unstopable pub and family party singer.
His favorite after a fair few pints was "When I LEAVE the world behind" - origin totally unknown to me or original singer but incredibly cheesey words about "A millionaire burdened down by care..." it goes on to say about leaving the "moon above to those in love" in short it means that the most important things in life have no monetary value and these are out there for all of us.
Now I am 50 plus I have warmed to these sentiments but it used to make me absolutely cringe. The older people used to shed a tear while he sang (HIS voice wasnt that bad so they were obviously moved).
Having recently had a bad gastric upset thoughts of planning for my funeral came into my troubled mind and I decided on "MY sWEET lord" by George HARRISON for the crematorium, better than "Fire starter" as suggested by one of my sons when discussing this on another occasion.
What does this say about me... well my dad's choice seems better with the passing of time, it had a good message, if a depressing tune. He lived up to it in a way as he didnt leave any money although was still singing in the local right up to the end.
George HARRISON ... well that's a 70's choice with a good message too, You cant overlook the need for some spiritual reassurance as time passes and you start looking back. I actually think my three children aged 19 - 30 quite like this one too.
Complain about this postSandy Denny's 'All Our Days' is such an undiscovered masterpiece. Just listen to it.
Complain about this postI think the inheritance tracks is an interesting section on this programme, and certainly has some relevence to our present music tastes.
My mum has distinctive taste in music, when I was little she always played her Beatles, Elvis, Abba and country music.
When I grew up I began to love indie music - Oasis which is similiar to 60's music. I love the white stripes, KT Tunsel which has a lot of folk and country influences.
I also don't mind listening to ABBA, and both Mum and I love the same song 'The winner takes it all' by ABBA.
Complain about this postThe whole of the Beatles back catalogue, memories of us, driving in the car on summer afternoons to Oxford as dad turns up the stereo and we sing, me the normal part, dad adding in an extra Beatle voice. Magic.
Complain about this postWhat an immensely enjoyable programme!
When I was growing up in the Thirties, I loved to listen to my parents' wind-up gramophone and my favourite song was: "It says so in the history books so I know it must be true...
One verse went: Now Cleopatra she was wise, her Anthony she'd wheedled,
But she committed suicied and so he got the needle."
On the other side, i think, was "Twas on the Isle of Capri that I met her, beneath the shade of an old apple tree..."
My 12-year-old daughter Georgia is fascinated by the only songs I remember the words of, which come from my late teens. So I have handed on to her: "Over the mountain, over the sea, that's where my heart is longing to be.
Please let the moon that shines on me shine on the one I love."
And: "Blue moon, you saw me standing alone,
Complain about this postWithout a dream in my heart, without a love of my own..."
Mark Thomas reminded me about being musically educated by my mother. She would sit us down and play music at us. We had to be respectfully silent: any talking would mean the record going straight back to the beginning. The music itself ranged from Quartet from Rigoletto to "99 Miles From LA" by Johnny Mathis and "S-S-Single Bed" by Foxx.
What to bequeath to future generations? Well, I have no children (was my experience was so traumatic that I felt the lineage should end with me?) but some friends have a son who loves The Stylistics CD I gave his mum.
Cheers
Pete
Complain about this postWhat were the details of Mark Thomas's song that he is passing on to his children. Was the song called Queen of the World?
Who was singing it?
Thanks
Complain about this postI found my inheritence track(s) a couple of years ago on buying a compilation CD of Spike Milligan material.
Hearing the "Ying-Tong Song" and "I'm walking backwards for christmas" after around thirty years brought back the distinctive aroma of dust warmed on the valves of an old Dansette record player.
I'm pretty sure I could also hear the crackles and pops of my dad's original record that was played to death on that Dansette in the early 1960s.
My track to hand on would be "Mr Slaters Parrot" by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah band. I intend to subject my nephews to this at every available opportunity...
Complain about this postElvis brilliant, so clever and very very funny.
Cant find anything about him on your web page. Who is this fabtastic mysterious man?
Complain about this postDoubt I could pick a single track that I got from my Dad, who was the big music fan in our house growing up, he listened to so many different things... Jazz, Folk, Opera... an increadable breadth of taste.
So to be a selection I'd choose Dave Brubeck's 'Take 5'
I loved it when he played it to me, and I listened to it often on the old Dansette - especially when revising for exams.
To leave behind... thats even tougher.
My tastes now include every form of music I can think of.
I'm torn between Fairport Convention, the Chemical Brothers, Pink Floydd, Motorhead, Motzart, Culture, Marth Reeves, Johnny Cash and Frank Zappa... but in the end I know who I have to go with.
Tom Waits.
There is something comforting and yet disturbing about the way he sings, creates and seems to get right to the heart of an emotion. He has so many great lines... "All the girls around here look like cadillacs"... "get down of the cross, we need the wood, come on up to the house"... "the night does funny things inside a man, Tom Cat feelings he don't understand"...
But the track I can listen to over and over and over and feel the emotion as strongly the first time as the last comes from his brilliantly bizarre "Mule Variations" album and is called "Hold On" - to me its the story of two people whose love is the only thing they have, and yet it can't give them anything they want... Even to the point of destroying them both.
They hung a sign up in out town
if you live it up, you wont
Live it down
So, she left Monte Rio, son
Just like a bullet leaves a gun
With charcoal eyes and monroe hips
She went and took that california trip
Well, the moon was gold, her
Hair like wind
She said dont look back just
Come on jim
(chorus)
Oh you got to
Hold on, hold on
You got to hold on
Take my hand, Im standing right here
You gotta hold on
I don't think it says anything about me or my life, I just love the picture it paints. I love the story... and I do love stories.
So I guess it says that about me.
What I'd hope it that my son will listen to these songs some day, and think of me and Grandad and his mind and tastes will open up and he'll reach even wider than I do. And then one day when I ask him what song he adds on to these two... it will shock and delight me even more. And I will learn something new.
Complain about this postBeing a fan of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Truths, I tuned in today anticipating similar lighted hearted/thought provoking fare. Not bad-I enjoyed the Inheritance Task slot but must say that I was very disappointed with the interview with the Hostage Negotiator.
Whilst an admirable man, there are many other vehicles on Radio 4 for such dicussions and I just do not feel that this fitted the spec of a programme to fill the hole left by ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Truths.
Early days though!
Complain about this postElvis was superb. Maybe you should have him as a regular......
And just because everyone else seems to only discuss themselves: my inherited song was more like an album - the soundtrack to the musical Hair. I won't be passing any on.
Complain about this postHi,
Loved the programme but just like Jane I would like to know about the details of Mark Thomas's song that he is passing on to his children.
Was the song called Queen of the World?
Who is singing it?
It would be a great help if you put details of the inheritance tracks on your website as sometimes you miss the name of both the track & performer.
Cheers
Complain about this postWhen I was a child my mother taught me a song called 'Good morning merry sunshine' which she learned from her father. He was taught it by his grandmother. Now my sister and I sing it to our children so it has passed down at least six generations within our family.
Complain about this postWe also have a repertoire of silly songs that my mother made up for us, usually to do with dirty nappies, which we also sing to our babies. These are often sung alongside 'Your baby has gone down the plug hole' which I think is one of a number of music hall songs that came from my great grandmother.
oh, cry me a river.
HT died with John Peel. Get over it.
Complain about this postNow that I'm a musician for a living, the music we listened to at home... erm, well it certainly had an impact on me, and often songs have a vivid image alongside them.
Complain about this postLike the time my teacher asked small me, aged 5, in that tone teachers have, "Now Lucy-Kate, what is your favourite song, hmm?" To which I sung, straight as a die, "Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll.." Or the times we would dance round the kitchen, the dog in mum's arms clearly enjoying himself, to Roy Woods' "Are you Ready to Rock?", relishing in particular the stupendous krazee bagpipe moment at the end. If you have never heard this, it is something to behold, a moment in music guaranteed to raise even the most depressed human being from torpor. Genius.
I would like to think that I shall be whizzing my kids and the dog around the room to that track in years to come. It may be the only exercise I find time for...
Brilliant idea. Now I know how to stop being taxi dad. Lifts will only be offered on the proviso that sons and their friends will have to listen to an "Inheritance track" of my choice. To be played at the same volume as sweet sounds drifting from their rooms.
Complain about this postBeing of 'that' generation (the one that listens to Radio 4 for a start!) - I too grew up joining in with my dad as he crooned along to Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett etc. At parties he would get mum, me or my sister up to dance, asking what was the point of having daughters if he didn't have anyone to get up and dance with. As I stumbled round the floor he would grip me firmly and steer, saying, 'One of us has to lead, and it's going to be me'. Mum and Dad did their 'courting' at tea dances - how civilized, quite the opposite of speed dating!
When dad sadly left us last year we had to choose the music for the funeral and rejected the religious in favour of 'Unforgettable' by Nat King Cole. All went well on the day until I walked into the chapel of rest and heard the music. To misquote Robin Williams quoting Walt Whitman, 'I sounded my barbaric yawp' at that point and fell to pieces. Now, neither my sister nor I ever want to hear the track again - which is a pity as it is very beautiful.
For my part, I have recently introduced my niece to Reggaeton and persuaded her to take up salsa dancing - so maybe people will be dancing with attitude when it's my turn to go!
It is good to have you back on the radio Fi - I listened to you in the early hours on BFBS out here in Kosovo, then on BH and now, although BFBS no longer take the feed for R4 on Saturday mornings I can listen on line.
Complain about this postInteritance Tracks
From my childhood (I'm 45) "Nelly the Elephant". Just the opening bars transports me way back to worrying about Nelly leaving her friends at the circus behind.
What I've passed onto my son (the only thing he would fall asleep to as a toddler - he's 17 today!) "Donkey Riding... Were you ever off Cape Horn, where the weather's fine and warm and seen a lion and a unicorn riding on a donkey...".
Both tunes evoke a reminiscence of childhood and a tear to the eye.
Complain about this postWhen I was a young girl I can remember a fidelity record player playing the Everly Brothers the song that caught my imagination was Ebony Eyes a very meloncholic song about a young lover being killed in an air crash on flight 1203. Now I come to think of it this song playing in the background of my childhood explains a lot about my fear of flying the message was so subliminal that it's only just occured to me!!
The track that I would pass on to my children is Michael Jackson's Billie Jean from the Thriller Album one of my favourite albums of all time. Michael may be a troubled soul but he writes a good upbeat song. My children protest about my liking him, but my daughter has his music on her ipod. I'm hoping the song lyrics have the same subliminal effect when it comes to promiscuity and its unintended results! I love Kate Bush and would dearly love to pass on one of her tracks but as the children are disturbed by her music perhaps this is not a good idea.
Complain about this postMy inheritance tracks are Chirpy chirpy cheap cheap by Middle of the Road and Hang on little tomato by Pink Martini.
Chirpy chirpy cheap cheap reminds me of childhood birthday parties. One of the things I learnt from my parents was the importance of celebration. Chirpy chirpy cheap cheap provided the music for us as we enjoyed musical bumps, pass the parcel and musical statues. Those parties were such fun.
By the time the youngest in our family, my sister Catherine, was a teenager, she was not keen on the sort of party my parents had in mind for her (with all our aunts and uncles and parents’ friends, as well as her mates) but we had them nonetheless. I was called on to bake Catherine's birthday cake, a tradition I've kept since I was 10 years old.
We’ve continued our partying tradition into adulthood. My brother, Tom, and I both celebrated our weddings three times. His wife is Hindu so we had a civil wedding, a Hindu wedding and a blessing at church. My partner and I signed our civil partnership last year. Like Tom, we had a do on the day we went to the registry office. A few months later we had a celebration at church. A month after that we had a garden party. My sister, Catherine, also got married last year. So far she’s managed only two parties. Shame on her!
It was Catherine who introduced me to Pink Martini. She found their first album at a record shop in New York when she was working there in 2000. She liked the cover and bought it for me as a birthday present. Since then we’ve both been fans. We saw their first UK gig at the Royal Festival Hall and are delighted that they’ve made it in the (admittedly small) easy listening market in the UK. Hang on little tomato combines humour, pathos and hope. It's about perseverance and never giving up. My niece and nephew are still small. I hope that I will be able to encourage them to be truly themselves and to develop those qualities of tenacity sung about so beautifully by Pink Martini as they grow into adults.
Complain about this postWhen I was 33 my Dad gave me a tape with a selection of his favorite music, jazz mainly. The last track was,'I just called to say I love you' by Stevie Wonder. Something he never said to me. He died from cancer a few months later.
Complain about this postSo, the track I would leave to my son who was born 4 years later is 'In the living years' by Mike and the Mechanics.