Monday, July 4, 2011

Poetry, Independence Day, & Awards


It's time for a little humor. This is another poem/lyrics from a song I learned at Girl Scout camp, when we lived in the Philippines back before there was dirt. 

Long Johns
author unknown

I have lost my underwear.
I don't care; I'll go bare.
Bye bye, long johns.

They were very close to me
Tickle me. He he he.
Bye bye, long johns

If you see them you'll know where to find me
With my bare bum stickin' out behind me.

I have lost my underwear.
I don't care; I'll go bare.
Long johns, bye bye.

Independence Day

As a military brat and an Army Vet, this holiday means a lot to me. I posted about some of my feelings on Memorial Day, so I just wanted to share one of my favorite patriotic songs. This one always reminds me of one our gravest times as a nation--the Civil War.

My ancestry includes people who fought for the South. While I'm proud of their willingness to fight for what they believed, I'm glad their side lost that particular battle. And speaking of battles, I lurves this version of The Battle Hymn of the Republic. It gives me chills every time I listen to it.

I was the choir director at my church for five years, and we were able to perform this once. It took months of practice, and we didn't have an orchestra to help. But still.

Usually I didn't mind doing that church job because, hey, I didn't have to face the congregation. I just had to face my choir, and we were used to working together. But they really needed me to cue them in a lot of places for the piece, and I'm not musically trained.

Scared me to death.

My hands shook so bad as I conducted that I had to pull my thumb in so it wasn't (quite) so obvious. But it was still a thrill and one of the highlights of my life, to be honest, to be part of it. I cried. The choir cried. Members of the congregation cried. *sigh*



Awards

I would like to acknowledge Sierra McConnell over at The Writer and the Resin Roommates for kindly giving me two awards. You should check out her blog. She's braving the July NaNo.

23 comments:

  1. Congrats on the twi well deserved awards.
    Loved the poem which brightened my Monday morning,
    Enjoyed the video which was ver stirring, I was in The US six weeks ago and visited many places.

    Happy 4th of July to you.
    Yvonne.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great Post, Happy 4th! :)

    Congrats on the awards!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Happy Independence Day, Donna! Congratulations on the awards.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, YAY!!!! Battle Hymn of the Republic! I've loved it since I was 4 and marched in my first parade. It still brings a lump to my throat and makes my hair stand on end.
    Sorry it took me so long to get around to following you. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Cute Poem. :)

    Understand that nervousness thing from the other side. I sing on my church choir, so I get to face them. :O I never quite get used to it. I agree this a wonderful version of the hymn. Something we Caribbean people don't get used to is the sheer number of people that some choirs have. Can't imagine what it would be like to sing with that much people. Beautiful sound.

    Enjoy the holiday!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Happy Fourth of July. Congrats on the two awards and the video was beautiful. I love that song.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You have so much to be proud of! I loved listening to the MTC sing that song. What a way to start of the day!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Congrats on the awards and Happy Fourth of July!!

    Always a proud moment to stand up and finish something that scares the crap out of you. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Would have loved to have been in that choir or in the ocngregation. You are a brave woman.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Congrats on the awards! Happy 4th to you too. What an awesome task with that choir. I sang in a choir for a while, but I don't believe we ever did anything patriotic.

    The poem cracked me up. I'll be replaying it my head for a while. I lost my underwear, underwear, underwear. That's the part that got stuck in my head. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. *Sigh* Battle Hymn of the Republic is one of the best hymns ever!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Happy July 4th, Donna!!!!

    Poet gives you three thumbs up on the poem. (Don't ask.)

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. THANKS for the song, and the poem made me giggle.

    Glad to find your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Great post... happy 4th, and thx for the videos, awesome music.

    ReplyDelete
  15. My kids would have loved that Girl Scout song! Happy 4th of July.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Donna, congratulations on your awards. That rendition of Glory, Glory Hallelujah... Let's just say, tears welled as soon as the women joined in. FANTASTIC. Thank you SO much for sharing. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Smiles to you and Happy Fourth!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hope you find your long johns!
    Happy Fourth of July!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Well deserved rewards congrats. I like the song as well thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Really enjoyed listening to the hymn - thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  21. He he because Long Johns are cool, right? I'd agree. Can't live in England without 'em :o)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Donna, I want to thank you for choosing to follow my blog. Your support means a great deal to me and I hope that you will find a lot to like over there!

    ReplyDelete

Comments brighten my day.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...