Fun Memory
I made a couple of trips to Florida recently and decided after I returned from the last one that I needed to do something for Sonya. In short order we were in Best Buy looking for a DVD for her. We quickly settled on Ponyo because we knew Sonya adored it (After we saw it in the movie theater she asked at bedtime for several weeks for us to retell the story).
On a whim I decided to treat myself to a new CD, which I very rarely do anymore, and was prompted by a magazine I read on the airplane (American Way). I selected a new release by the group Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, titled Beat the Devil's Tattoo. I vaguely the group from online radio but this was an impulse purchase. On the short ride home I listened to the first track. Sonya did not want me to but then something funny happened.
Sonya loved that song. From that night and over the next couple of weeks just about every time we got in my car she asked me to put that song on, "the one that I like" she would say. The first couple of days she asked me over and over what kind of song it was. I said the words rock and roll, which I doubt she had heard before. She told me she enjoyed how slow they sang - it's definitely in stark contrast to the manic howling common in children's music. Sonya now hums along with the music and pretends to sing even though she clearly has no idea what are the lyrics. Truth be told I'm not sure what they sing much of the time.
When I turn the first track on, the routine is I turn and check Sonya, and she has smiled like Christmas morning every day. So I don't care what the music is, I'll take that great reaction. She definitely likes the CD more than I do, so whenever she moves on with I'll probably resell it. Until then she has the artwork from it on her wall and I'll put it on if she asks for it.
I did have to look up what the term 'beat the devil's tattoo' was supposed to mean and found an online explanation:
On a whim I decided to treat myself to a new CD, which I very rarely do anymore, and was prompted by a magazine I read on the airplane (American Way). I selected a new release by the group Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, titled Beat the Devil's Tattoo. I vaguely the group from online radio but this was an impulse purchase. On the short ride home I listened to the first track. Sonya did not want me to but then something funny happened.
Sonya loved that song. From that night and over the next couple of weeks just about every time we got in my car she asked me to put that song on, "the one that I like" she would say. The first couple of days she asked me over and over what kind of song it was. I said the words rock and roll, which I doubt she had heard before. She told me she enjoyed how slow they sang - it's definitely in stark contrast to the manic howling common in children's music. Sonya now hums along with the music and pretends to sing even though she clearly has no idea what are the lyrics. Truth be told I'm not sure what they sing much of the time.
When I turn the first track on, the routine is I turn and check Sonya, and she has smiled like Christmas morning every day. So I don't care what the music is, I'll take that great reaction. She definitely likes the CD more than I do, so whenever she moves on with I'll probably resell it. Until then she has the artwork from it on her wall and I'll put it on if she asks for it.
I did have to look up what the term 'beat the devil's tattoo' was supposed to mean and found an online explanation:
Tapping on the table with one’s finger a wearisome number of times; tapping on the floor with one’s foot in a similar manner; repeating any sound with wearisome pertinacity, giving those who hear the "blue devils" or the "fidgets."
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2 Comments:
Great story!
Interesting side note: I wrote a paper for grad school about a 19th century novel called Fanny Fern, where several characters "beat tattoos" on tables, newspapers, etc. The unusual phrasing helped me identify a pattern that I used to back up one of the main points of my paper...
I doubt anyone else I know is aware of that arcane 19th century term... leave it to the English prof.
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