Sunday, February 15, 2009
All Night Long
As some of you already know, my father was an alcoholic. I've sobbed away already about my wretched childhood, but it's not my intention do that here. I present to you a memory of odd, though essentially benign, behavior by my father when he was, as they say, in his cups. He'd be drinking, probably at a bar, and some nights, when he'd made it home, he was moved to play "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" on the old Victrola all night long. That's right, all night long. He didn't play it loud enough to keep us from sleeping, but if we happened to wake up, we'd hear the old song. Mind you, this was the 1940s, and he played the single on an old wind-up Victrola. He had to put the needle back on the beginning of the record each time and keep the record player wound up to keep it going.
Sometimes, it was still going in the morning when we got up, when my mother would put a stop to it. I can't swear it was Al Jolson's version, but of the old versions that I've listened to, it seems the most likely. I know that my father liked Al Jolson. Despite the all-nighters, or perhaps because of them, I'm still fond of the song.
Place - park, scene - dark
Silv'ry moon is shining through the trees
Cast - two, me - you
Summer kisses floating on the breeze
Act one, be done
Dialog - where would ya like to spoon?
My cue, with you
Underneath the silv'ry moon
By the light of the silvery moon
I wanna spoon
To my honey I'll croon love's tune
Honey moon, keep a-shinin' in June
Your silv'ry beams will bring love's dreams
We'll be cuddlin' soon by the silvery moon
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Lovely
ReplyDeleteI've wondered if my father had a lover in mind as he played the song over and over. He and my mother were a definite mismatch, so I can't believe that she was the object of his reveries as he listened to the song.
ReplyDeleteOh my. Lucky are we who have had that one moment. I really don't think it matters with whom. And pity the generations who never knew this song. Harry Nilsson re-created the general message in an album called "A Little Schmillson in the Night." That one's long lost to most, too. Thanks grandmere.
ReplyDeleteScott, I'm so glad you like it. I thought this offering would be pretty much ignored, but there are some posts that I have to do, and this was one of them.
ReplyDeleteLet me dare say why I responded. It's those very moments that give us the courage to make and keep further commitments. Those moments don't even have to be "romantic" - 'though they often are - and sometimes they are more purely sacramental, 'though sacraments and enfleshments are nearly- related. They are moments assuring us God is and that God is worth the seeking, the trusting. More to the point, they are moments because of which we can hear and bear the echoes of God as life increases. God "with skin on", if you will. "A kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh, the fundamental things apply as time goes by," etc.
ReplyDelete(I think that was a poem.)
:)
bonne nuit
Mimi
ReplyDeleteMy (also alcoholic) father once brought a book of music and songs back from Canada. Every so often he would play them on the piano and the rest of the family would sing along.
This one used to be one of my favourites as a child and I'd sometimes sing it to myself in bed.
Thank you for awakening that memory.
A beatiful song whihc I've always loved since my first public performance of it although it was a slightly tongue in cheek skit.
ReplyDeleteScott, I believe that the song is sacramental. For some reason, the memory is fraught with meaning far beyond an inebriated man playing the same song all night.
ReplyDeleteErika, I sang the song on my walk last night when I could see no one else around.
TheMe, how old were you when you sang the song in the skit (so I can get a good picture in my head)?
Interesting memory; music really does bring back our past.
ReplyDeleteMy father used to play the piano every night before he went to bed - old standards mostly - but the one that sticks in my memory was "My Restless Heart."
What a lovely thing for your father to do, Maui. "My Restless Heart"? As a sleep aid?
ReplyDeleteMy father was also an alcoholic. But, when he drank he got ugly. Verbally and physically violent. Every now and again, though, he'd get mellow. His song during those times was the Chet Atkins version of "Your Cheatin' Heart." He sang it over and over again until he fell asleep. In a strange kind of way, whenever I hear that song, I always feel a wave of calm. Musical memories are mysteriously sacramental in that way.
ReplyDeleteBut, when he drank he got ugly. Verbally and physically violent.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, mine was the same, except for the physical part. He was what is known as a mean drunk, as opposed to a silly drunk. It's a hell of a life.