One day last week, I took Scamp out for his walk. It was a rainy morning, but I geared up and went anyways. Dogs are great that way. They get you out and about when you’d be tempted to sit around, drinking coffee in your bathrobe.
It was only sprinkling, really, so we decided to do our usual half hour jaunt. But on the way back, the rain amped up and so did the wind, right into our faces.
So, I’m walkin’ as fast as I can, really in a rhythm with it, when it happens: a song pops into my head. It’s “Laughter in the Rain” by Neil Sedaka.
Ooh, I hear laughter in the rain
Walking hand in hand with the one I love
Ooh, how I love the rainy days
…..you get the idea.
This is one of those irritating songs, that once it gets into your head, you can’t get it out. (On the internet they call this an earworm, and I wish I didn’t look that up because it sounds really yucky!) The lyrics to “Laughter in the Rain” are kind of silly, right? Rain has never made me so incredibly happy I spontaneously break into song, regardless of who I’m walking with.
I try to distract myself by rewriting the lyrics.
Ooh, I hear snoring in the den
Sitting side by side with the one I love
Ooh, how I love these lazy days
Yeah, I know. That’s not much better. So, I spent awhile trying to think of something that rhymes with Barcalounger. But I couldn’t get Neil’s sugary voice outta my head. Try to think of something else, Ida, I says to myself.
Then one things leads to another, like they do, and I remember seeing Neil Sedaka performing with Captain and Tenille, “Love Will Keep Us Together” which is perky song with a nice message. Then, bam! It happens again: “Muskrat Love.” No, please, not “Muskrat Love!” What is going on with this song? I don’t want to know!
Obviously, I’m on a seventies roll which made me think of Shields and Yarnell. (Do you remember them?) Oh, that’s good, Ida! Focus on the mimes. They’re quiet.
By then, we were turning the corner onto our street, and on the home stretch. Scamp, who’d been walking right beside me the whole way, the little trooper, starts pulling for home.
There were lots of suggestions on the internet for how to get a song out of your head. I know because I looked when I got home. Stupid things like chewing gum or playing that irritating song on your guitar. Yeah, like that’s going to happen. But I’ve found the best way to get rid of one of these little ditties is to pass it on.
You’re welcome!
That’s it for now. Catch you on the flip side.
Hear Ida Tell It: Can’t Get That Song Out of My Head
Upcoming Book Events and Performances
March 21: A Visit With Ida, 1:00pm, Westbrook Seniors, Westbrook, ME
April 12: Book Reading: Finding Your Inner Moose, Windham Public Library http://www.windham.lib.me.us/, 6:00pm, Windham, ME
May 19: Book Launch: The Sweet Life, details TBA
May 24: Book Reading: The Sweet Life, Patten Free Library, http://www.patten.lib.me.us/ 6:30pm, Bath, ME
May 28: Ida: Woman Who Runs With the Moose, The Castel on Charles http://www.castlenh.com/ 8:00pm, Rochester, NH
June 2: Book Reading: The Sweet Life, Hubbard Free Library, http://www.hubbardfree.org/ 6:00pm, Hallowell, ME
June 25: The Best of Ida, Celebration Barn Theater, http://www.celebrationbarn.com/ 8:00pm, South Paris, ME