1.24.10
When I was a little bitty baby
by Jon Worley

My son Sam likes music. Every once in a while, he locks in something fierce.

One recent morning we pulled up to his preschool. The CCR rendition of Leadbelly's "Cotton Fields" started up just as I was about to cut the engine.

"Daddy, can we listen to this?" he asked.

"Sure," I said. So we did.

When I was a little bitty baby
My mama would rock me in the cradle
In them old cotton fields back home

"I know this song!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, you do." I said.

"So when are they going to talk about Louisiana?"

"Right about now."

It was down in Louisiana
Just about a mile from Texarkana
In them old cotton fields back home

"Cotton Fields" is one of two Leadbelly songs on Willy and the Poor Boys, an album that also contains "Fortunate Son," "Down on the Corner" and one of my favorite CCR tunes, "It Came Out of the Sky."

The other Leadbelly song is "The Midnight Special." CCR's version is great. The band implanted a swampy reggae groove into the folk anthem, and the song really swings.

It may sound a little funny
But you didn't make much money
In them old cotton fields back home

"Cotton Fields" is also great. For some reason, CCR drops the final verse (about hopping over to Arkansas and getting harassed). It's not like the band shied away from political songs or ideas, so maybe they just decided to cut things short. I really have no idea.

Another of Sam's favorite songs is the Stones's "Let It Bleed." He doesn't really understand the song, but he likes the country swing. I suppose that's what hooked him on "Cotton Fields" as well.

I've been burning a lot of Willie Nelson from the local library. Sam is definitely a big Willie fan. Johnny Cash is still the bomb, but Willie's more than alright.

Oh when those cotton balls get rotten
You can't pick very much cotton
In them old cotton fields back home

I hate kids music. That is, I hate music aimed at kids. My boys like some of it well enough, but their palates extend beyond cloying nursery rhymes--and those nursery rhymes are miles better than "modern" kids songs, most of which are about as formless and dull as contemporary religious music.

If you can't stand "children's music" and want to play something all of you can enjoy, here are some suggestions to get you started:

  • The Beatles: Any album. Any song. Max's favorite is "Here Comes the Sun." Sam's is "Hey Bulldog."

  • Johnny Cash: And not "The Johnny Cash Children's Album, which is well-intentioned but positively awful. Unchained, Cash's second album with Rick Rubin, ends with I've Been Everywhere, which every kid I've ever met absolutely adores.

  • The Flaming Lips: Not the new one (Embryonic), which simply isn't very good. But any of the major-label releases are chock full of poppy (and often rocking) songs written from a slightly off-kilter point of view. "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" (the song and the album) is a big favorite in our house.

  • They Might Be Giants: Including No!, their official kids album. Again, the off-center perspective really seems to excite the nippers.

  • N.W.A.: Not really. Just seeing if you're paying attention.

  • The Clash: I'm not joking about this. You have to edit, more for quality than content (though London Calling is great all the way through, even after 1000 listens).

    Perhaps you see a pattern here. The structure of the music should be easily discernible, even if there are lots of things going on (TMBG, later Beatles or the Lips, in particular). The songs should be short. The lyrics should be catchy and easy to remember. Most important, there should be a beat so that you can dance to it.

    Once you get your kids started, they'll start exploring music just like you. And that is a gift they'll remember for the rest of their lives.


    Jon Worley doesn't hate Dan Zanes, but he's not a big fan, either.

    		•

    e-mail Jon Worley
    return to the Shut up, I'm talking page
    return to the LIES home page
    return to the A&A home page