My brother thought that the Doobie Brothers were singing about "mama being taken to the 5&10" store. We went there often, and in the lyrics it says "pretty mama gonna take you by the hand" or something like that, and he thought it was 5&10.
I thought that Kenny Rogers was singing about his wife having left their 400 children and a crop in the fields.
I also HATED the Blue Bayou song b/c I thought she was leaving her *baby* behind, like her baby-baby, not her boyfriend-type-baby.
On the other hand, sometimes we ignore ugly lyrics and our kids catch them!
I didn't sing many normal lullabies to DS b/c they just didn't work. I've basically been singing the tune of "frere jaques" with "little cowboy, little cowboy, I love you" as the main lyric, changing it up with "big cowboy", sometimes going totally different with "buzz lightyear, buzz lightyear, I love you" etc etc, and I've been doing that since he was 2. I finally got bored with those, and tried "Rockabye baby". He was all cozy and cuddly, and as I went further into the song he sat up, started looking at me, then had this look of utter disgust in his eyes...he said (he was 5 I think)..."WHAT are you SINGING to me?????" I realized what awful lyrics those are, and immediately stopped and said "I have no idea, what was I thinking?" and moved back to "big cowboy".
And some months ago I was singing Darling Clementine, and I got the same look. What the heck? "She was gone and lost forever?" Who came up with that as a lullaby to a child???
So..."big cowboy, big cowboy, I love you, I love you, you're my biiiig cowboy, you're my biiig cowboy, I love you...I love you..." forever and ever. Not trying anymore lullabies!
