By Carl Sampson
Like a lot of people, I sing in the shower. It’s not pretty, visually or otherwise, but I always feel better after belting out a couple of songs. I never really noticed it before but the songs I sing you really don’t hear much anymore. They’re happy songs.
A lot of songs these days are tragic or mean-spirited or I just don’t know what they are, because I can’t understand the lyrics.
They’re about wrecking balls, broken hearts and even revenge — not exactly uplifting.
The songs I sing in the shower — please don’t try to imagine that scene — are something else. They remind me of happy times.
Most people may not appreciate my taste in music, but as a reader of this column you’re not most people. You’re special and have exquisite taste — in columns, at least.
So without further ado, I present my personal list of happy, singing-in-the-shower-songs.
A Bushel and a Peck. This was originally in the Broadway version of Guys and Dolls, but Perry Como and Betty Hutton recorded the best version. Whenever I sing it I feel 20 years old and totally in love. Now that’s as good as a song can get.
If I Knew You Were Coming, I’d Have Baked a Cake. If A Bushel and a Peck is a happy song, this one is ecstatic. My favorite line is “I don’t know where you came from, I don’t know where you’ve been … so pick up a plate and dive, dive, dive right in!” OK, the lyrics aren’t deep, but I bet you’re smiling right now, aren’t you?
Walking on Sunshine. Though this song provided 15 minutes of fame for Katrina and the Waves, it’ll be on my top hit list forever.
Pass Me By. This song was in the opening scene of the Cary Grant movie, Father Goose. It starts off. “I’ve got me 10 fine toes to wiggle in the sand, lots of idle fingers snap to my command….” Cary Grant played a ne’er-do-well during World War II in the South Pacific. Great song, great movie.
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go. George Michael wrote this and recorded it as part of the duo Wham! It’s also in one of my all-time favorite movies, “Zoolander.”
High Hopes.This was a hit for Frank Sinatra and a version of it was used in John F. Kennedy’s campaign. You may not recall it but it involves an ant and a rubber tree plant.
Cheeseburger in Paradise. Just about any Jimmy Buffett song is good, but this is my favorite. “I like mine with lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57 and french-fried potatoes, a big kosher pickle and a cold glass of beer, good God almighty, which way do I steer….” And the same still holds true to this day. I’ll take a good cheeseburger over just about anything.
My Girl. The first concert I ever went to featured The Temptations, and my favorite song was My Girl. I sang this song to my wife at our wedding reception. “I’ve got sunshine, on a cloudy day, and when it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May. I guess you’d say, what can make me feel this way? My girl….”
That’s one song that’ll always make me happy.
