this woman’s work

I’m posting this on Sunday, which is likely how this is going to have to work for me.

OK, here’s the deal. Every Monday (Sunday) I’m going to post three showtune-ish songs for the enjoyment of my readers. Of course, songs placed here are meant to encourage you to buy the artist’s recording and if you are the copyright holder of the song and do not want it distributed in this way, please let me know ASAP and I’ll remove it.

Speaking of removing files, each Monday (Sunday) when I upload new ones, I’ll delete the old ones. Also, for some reason I don’t understand, these files are binhexed so you’ll need to unpack them. This is annoying because I’d rather they just open nicely in quicktime. If someone can help me figure out why .mac is zipping them up and how to get them unzipped on the site so folks can open them right away with quicktime, I’d be awfully grateful.

I’m using themes because it’ll help me organize my collection and figure out what to share. My focus is going to be showtunes but not necessarily as they are sung in the show. I’ll try to give background on the show as well as the singer and why I’m sharing that particular version (if there is more than one readily available).

Here it goes. The theme for this week is “Songs Sung to Children.”

The first selection is one written by John Bucchino for a musical that hasn’t yet gotten off the ground called “Urban Myths.” It’s sung here by Lois Sage who sadly doesn’t seem to have other work out there and it’s about a mother consoling her child about the loss of his (her?) father. Anyway, this song is from Grateful, which is a retrospective of Bucchino’s work. And this CD is also how I discovered that I must like cabaret music because that’s what much of this is. Interestingly, Bucchino can’t read music but he certainly can write it (he’s the pianist on the album, too, and sings one of the songs) and he’s a beautiful, subtle, graceful lyricist. I think that this song is a good illustration of his talent.
–Temporary

The next song is “No One is Alone” from the show Into the Woods and this version is available on Send in the Clowns: Ballads of Stephen Sondheim. I like this treatment by jazz singer Cleo Laine but I think I love Laurie Beechman’s version best. Cleo Laine’s just happened to be on iTunes and Laurie’s is upstairs trapped in its little jewel box. Anyway, I always think of this song when I’m frustrated with my mother-in-law because it reminds me that we’re all doing the best that we can for our children.
–No One Is Alone

Finally, saving my favorite for last, is “I Won’t Mind” sung by Audra McDonald from her album, How Glory Goes. I used to listen to this song in the midst of infertility hell and it made me cry but in a good way. It’s the only song I’ve ever heard that talks about loving a child that is not your own. Do NOT listen to it if you’re in the middle of a clomid cycle. The last line where she ever so slightly emphasizes the word “mama” — it’s a tear-jerker. And here’s the background on that song. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
–I Won’t Mind

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