Song of the Day: Saturday 7/23/11

Banks of Marbleis the Royal Song of the Day. This song was written by Les Rice. You can find this song on page 180 of Rise Up Singing. It’s still hot out. Just like yesterday. And entirely coincidentally we are on the next page of Rise Up Singing from yesterday.  My friend Linda introduced me to this song last week.

I spend a good part of my daylight hours helping people deal with their mortgage banks.  The mortgage industry is such a disaster because everything is broken up between different corporations so no one has any responsibility.  The simplest explanation of the mortgage industry is that it is broken up between two different entities: 1) the investor who owns the promissory note and 2) the servicer who is basically a bill collector.  You only get to deal with the front man, the servicer, rather than the investor who holds the real power.  If you try to contact the investor, they give you a Sgt. Shultz “I know nothing attitude.” The servicers are byzantine, disorganized, redundant, bureaucratic and sometimes arbitrary.  Occasionally, I will hop over to Linda’s office to express my frustration. Her response was to introduce me to this song which, like so many great songs, was popularized by Pete Seeger:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-o3CJytIPE]  Continue reading Song of the Day: Saturday 7/23/11

Song of the Day: Friday 7/22/11

Capitol Records 45rpm record label for USA rel...
Image via Wikipedia

“Yellow Submarine” is the Royal Song of the Day for today. You can find this song on page 179 of Rise Up Singing.  It’s hot! And we need something fun to sing that reminds of cool water. Close your eyes and dive deep into a technicolor cartoon ocean.  The blue meanies have taken the day off.  So sing-o along with Ringo as the credits roll by.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCsYDZ2M04M]

 

In a town
where I was born
lived a man
who sailed the sea

 

Royal Song of the Day: Thursday 7/21/11

Glacier
Image by Tolka Rover via Flickr

“If I Had A Hammer” is the Royal Song of the Day for today. You can find this song on page 215 of Rise Up Singing.

I chose this song to continue the idea that singing out will keep us cool. Also, because it has such bold images and patterns, I think it would be a great song to make new lyrics for.

So, this week, while the temps in New York (and elsewhere) are in the 90’s, I am going to sing… Continue reading Royal Song of the Day: Thursday 7/21/11

Royal Song of the Day: Wed 7/20/2011

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_26FOHoaC78]

“Free To Be You and Me”is the Royal Song of the Day. This song is from the 1970’s classic children’s recording by Marlo Thomas & Friends. You can find this song on page 109 of our favorite songbook Rise Up Singing.

Being hot makes me want to sing out. I chose this song for the heat wave because it is joyful and lyrical. Makes you feel cool all over.

The song celebrates the spirit of diversity in a carefree and uplifting way. (And, the video has carousel horses! Lots of fun!).

Royally Yours,
Susanna, Duchess of Peace

“I ain’t gonna study war no more”: Peace Song for 7/19/2011

“Study War No More” is the Royal Song of the Day. It’s a classic (well, make that a “traditional”, identified as a Black Spiritual). And, the song can be found in Rise Up Singing on page 163.

Here is a youtube video of Mahalia Jackson singing “Study War No More“:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nASMNYM8tn8] Continue reading “I ain’t gonna study war no more”: Peace Song for 7/19/2011

Royal Song of the Day: Monday 7/18/2011

The Royal Song of the Day is “All the Weary Mothers” by Joan Baez. You can find this song in Rise Up Singing on page 114. The first verse beings, “All the weary mothers of the earth will finally rest…”. The last stanza is a dream about no more wars.

Duchess Susanna writes:

This song is dedicated to two people with whom I had interesting conversations today: One person was a mother, and the other person was a friend, helping a friend.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNXofOUmshM&feature=youtu.be]

More about why I chose this song: Continue reading Royal Song of the Day: Monday 7/18/2011

Book of the Week: Your Money or Your Life

we make a dying at work so we can live it up on the weekend

Duke Augustus writes: Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence: Revised and Updated for the 21st Century by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez sparked the modern simplicity movement. It remains one of the pre-eminent sources for how to create financial freedom by separating your needs from your wants. This is not a get rich quick scheme. It is the progeny of Thoreau’s On Walden Pond. The Harvard-educated Thoreau freed himself from the business world by by taking the extraordinary measure of changing his life from pencil manufacturer to squatter. Dominguez and Robin suggest a less drastic change by helping you re-direct your prosperity from consumer driven wants to enough wealth to stop working.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8lz13SWZ5w&feature=player_embedded]

The publisher describes the book as: Continue reading Book of the Week: Your Money or Your Life