I chose to do "My Blue Heaven" by Gene Austin because my mother would sing this song to me before I would go to sleep in the evenings when I was younger. I love the tranquil picture he paints in the listener's head. This is the most beautiful, placating song, and I still listen to it whenever I become distressed or worried. I love the entire crooning era that came from microphones and this song is by far my favorite. I appreciate the gentle connotation of the words. The repetition of certain placating words help put the listener at ease. He frequently says words such as "cozy," "happy," and "nestled." These words are eloquently conciliatory and they always make me feel happy. I also adore the instrumental of this song. The deep cello at the beginning is very comforting. Subsequently, the soft bouncing beat of the piano is also very sweet. Though to completely transparent, I do abhor the whistling bird that enters near the end of the song. It is one of the most grating, piercing sounds I have ever had the misfortune of hearing in a song. It utterly destroys the serenity of the song, and turns it into one of the most unfortunate cacophony of disastrous tunes.
Hey Kaden, I listened to "My Blue Heaven" again after reading your recommendation. I agree with what you said, the whole song brings a very calm and gentle feeling, as if lying on the beach and looking at the blue sky at the seaside. The bird whistle at the end of the song does sound very abrupt, as if it cuts through the quiet sky, giving people a bad feeling.
ReplyDeleteI also went and listened to it after reading your post. The ending with the bird was definitely very prominent and almost unbearable. It did overwhelm and take away from the song itself. My grandmother used to hum this song while making cookies in her kitchen. I haven't heard it for a long time so I also have emotional attachment to this song. I did not know the name of it but I thank you for bringing this back into my life.
ReplyDeleteI decided to this song last week! I totally agree with your comment about the bird whistling. I felt like it took me out of that lullaby mood. I think that it is so sweet that your mom used to sing you to sleep with this song!
ReplyDeleteI also chose this song one of the weeks! That's super cute and tender that you have good memories with this song and makes it more fun to read! Its cool that you talked about different parts in the song and different factors in it, you picked it apart and described it good!
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