Duchess Susanna writes: Because of our technical difficulties, the Royal Song of the Day was announced late, and only on FaceBook and Twitter…until now.

The Royal Song of the Day for Monday, July 11th  is/was: “The Marvelous Toy“. It is on page 174 of Rise Up Singing. It was picked to commemorate the mystery of computer technology as Duke Augustus upgraded our website. Below is a very fun version, with audience sing-a-long, by Peter, Paul and Mary:

An excerpt:

“It went ZIP when it moved and BOP when it stopped
and WHIRR when it stood still…”

The Marvelous Toy is one of those magical songs, which are somehow about peace and the power of the human spirit, even though you can’t find a lyric that says it exactly. In the video above, it is so fun to listen to the thoughts of Peter and Paul and Mary as they explain how to make the various sounds. I love the way Mary Travers describes what makes an “effective” sound.