"Oh, Come To The Church In The Wildwood . . ."

Remembering the little white church on Plum Island (see blogpost for Sunday, 1/23) brought the following song to mind, a song that was a favorite of Marash Girl's father, one he would often sing, sing, sing, sing! The Church in the Wildwood by Dr. William S. Pitts There's a church in the vale by the wildwood, No lovelier spot in the dale; No place is so dear to my childhood As the little brown church in the vale. Chorus Oh, come, come, come, come, Come to the church in the wildwood, Oh, come to the church in the vale; No spot is so dear to my childhood As the little brown church in the vale.

Music, Music, Music!

Below a photo of famous track star and high-jumper Raffi playing Jingle Bells on Christmas Eve.

Photo by MarashGirl©2021

Today is National Hole In My Bucket Day!

Marash Girl and her children used to love to sing "There's a Hole in My Bucket" during their rides to Wilbraham, Massachusetts, those wonderful summers before the tornado destroyed the cabin and the trees on top of Wilbraham Mountain. Below, although in Marash Girl's memory, are the lyrics (somewhat amended) as taken from the internet...Please feel free to sing along. There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza, There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole. Then fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, Then fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, fix it. With what shall I fix it, dear Liza, dear Liza, With what shall I fix it, dear Liza, with what? With a straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, With a straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, a straw. But the straw is too long, dear Liza, dear Liza, The straw is too long, dear Liza, too long. Then cut it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, Then cut it, dear Henry, dear Henry, cut it! With what shall I cut it, dear Liza, dear Liza, With what shall I cut it, dear Liza, with what? With an ax, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, With an ax, dear Henry, dear Henry, an ax. But the ax is too dull, dear Liza, dear Liza, The ax is too dull, dear Liza, too dull. Then sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, Then sharpen it dear Henry, dear Henry, sharpen it! With what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, dear Liza, With what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, with what? With a stone, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, With a stone, dear Henry, dear Henry, a stone. But the stone is too dry, dear Liza, dear Liza, The stone is too dry, dear Liza, too dry. Then wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, Then wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, wet it. With what shall I wet it, dear Liza, dear Liza, With what shall I wet it, dear Liza, with what? With water, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, With water, dear Henry, dear Henry, water. But how shall I get it?, dear Liza, dear Liza, But how shall I get it?, dear Liza, with what? With the bucket, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, With the bucket, dear Henry, dear Henry, the bucket! But there's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza, There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole.

I'm So Happy And Here's The Reason Why. . .

When Marash Girl was a little girl, she attended Sunday School at the United Armenian Brethren Evangelical Church in Watertown, Massachusetts, a church established by those who had survived the genocide of the Armenian people which occurred between the years of 1915 and 1922. The preacher of our church, Rev. Vartan Bilezikian, was himself a survivor the Armenian Genocide (see yesterday's blogpost). Students from Gordon College were Marash Girl's Sunday School teachers. Young, enthusiastic, and committed, they taught her and her classmates to love Jesus, to live according to Jesus's teachings. But that's not all they taught. They taught wonderful Sunday School choruses, many of which Marash Girl remembers to this day. and here's one she finds herself singing often! "I'm so happy and here's the reason why, Jesus took my burdens all away; Now I'm singing as the days go by, Jesus took my burdens all away." "Once my heart was heavy with a load of sin, Jesus took the load and gave me peace within; Now I'm happy and here's the reason why, Jesus took my burdens all away." An upbeat (children's) hymn written by Stanton Gavitt . . . a hymn Marash Girl loves to sing as she takes her morning walk. Check out the song on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKA_jOdxEH0. You'll be so happy because Jesus took your burdens all away AND because you will be able to sing along with the pianist. Happy Palm Sunday!

I'm So Happy, And Here's The Reason Why . . .

The lyrics of one of the first Sunday School choruses Marash Girl learned as a child are recorded below. Marash Girl and her sister and brother and cousins and Sunday School friends would stand on the pulpit at the front of the Armenian Brethren Evangelical Church of Watertown, Massachusetts, and sing out the words with great gusto, big smiles and genuine joy! Marash Girl remembers the lyrics and sings the song to this day, all these many years later!!! Sorry she can't record the tune here, but she's sure you can find the music somewhere out there on the internet . . . so here goes . . . I'm So Happy Words and Music by Stanton W. Gavitt © 1936, renewal 1964 by Stanton W. Gavitt I'm so happy and here's the reason why - Jesus took my burdens all away; Now I'm singing as the days go by - Jesus took my burdens all away. Once my heart was heavy with a load of sin. Jesus took my sin and gave me peace within, Now I'm singing as the days go by - Jesus took my burdens all away.

Marash Girl, Marash Martha, and Country & Western Music

Growing up in Newtonville, Marash Girl and Marash Martha, then only 5 or 6 years old, were gifted a radio by their father and mother. (Perhaps because they would wake up so early in the morning that they didn't allow their mother and father the sleep their parents needed!). The two girls delighted in listening to "Country and Western Music" on that radio, music that began playing, as Marash Girl remembers, as early as 5 o'clock every morning. It was such fun for the girls that Marash Martha actually, at one time, wanted to grow up to be a "cow girl"! Recalling those days, Marash Martha writes,"The best part was the yodeling!"

"Pallet Builder/Repair"

Browsing through her "junk" emails, Marash Girl found an advertisement for "Pallet Builder/Repair" . . . It brought to mind the folk song which became popular in the 1960's. (Of course, Marash Girl wasn't even born at the time!) "Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor!" Any of you out there old enough to remember that song?