Bill, Arlene, Jean, Irene, PJ, Anne, Betty, Frank, Larry, Jack, Ken, WendySue, Louise, Jen and Dawn assembled on this evening to play songs with NOUNS in the title. Aside from having themes like “Songs with words in the title” or “Songs written by human beings,” this was about as broad as a topic can be. There was one new guy, Chris, who came all the way from Australia, complete with his Down Under accent. I forgot to ask him, as I try to ask all Australians I meet, if he has ever seen a wombat.

1. Big Rock Candy Mountain

“In the Big Rock Candy Mountains, you never change your socks.” What luxury!

2. Wild Thing, the Troggs, 1966 (WendySue)

Great rock and roll staple. Every basement band should know this.

3. If I Only Had a Brain, from The Wizard of Oz, 1939 (WendySue)

4. Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Queen, 1980 (WendySue)

We could try this again and get better. Watch the Freddie Mercury biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, if you want to hear some good singing.

5. Bread and Butter, the Newbeats, 1964 (Arlene)

This is a kind of dumb, repetitive song that I’ve liked since childhood.

6. On the Road Again, Willie Nelson, 1980 (Arlene)

We always seem to rush this one. Arlene, back from a visit with the Austin Ukulele Society, which she loved, says they end their sessions with this song.

7. City of New Orleans, Arlo Guthrie, 1972 (Arlene)

This was the first time we were together, and Arlene wants it on The List, if it isn’t on there already.

8. Daydream, Lovin’ Spoonful, 1966, (Jean)

And I thought we did a good job on the last one. Jean demands this goes to the top of The List. We were mistake-free. We need more dedicated whistlers to do this justice. I’ve never been able to whistle. I wonder what percentage of the population cannot whistle. John Sebastian does it well. So does Andy Griffith.

9. White Sandy Beach, Bruddah Iz (Irene)

I didn’t know it but it was a pretty one.

10. Jamaica Farewell, Harry Belafonte, 1956 (Irene)

This song will be played at every uke function you ever attend. In the usually reliable Dr. Uke version, an [F] is used in place of the better-sounding [Dm]. Louise says this is a mournful song, about leaving behind a true love, and therefore calls for a minor. Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap claims [Dm] to be the saddest chord. “It makes people weep instantly when you play it,” he says.

11. Garden Party, Rick Nelson, 1972 (Irene)

Clean-cut teen idol Ricky Nelson, ten years after his star had fallen, played an oldies show at the Garden with Chuck Berry and Bobby Rydell. Now with his long hair, bell bottoms, a new band, and playing other than his hits of yesteryear, he wasn’t well-received. He wrote this song about the experience, and it became his last song to make it to the Top 40. The last line of the final verse goes, “If memories were all I sang, I’d rather drive a truck.”

12. This Magic Moment, Drifters, 1960, Jay and the Americans, 1969 (Bill)

This is one of the easiest songs in the book and we should have knocked it out of the park, but we did not. I see in my notes that some of us were “fooling around,” though I can’t recall what the fooling around constituted. Is this the unserious example we want to set for future generations?

13. Edelweiss, from The Sound of Music, 1959 (Ken)

We could impress a crowd of nursing home staff with this. It’s one of the prettiest melodies out there. We were thrown a little curve at the end with a fantastic-sounding [Gm] and [Fm]. We’d just need a few minutes of dedicated practice to get that bit correct.

14. My Old Man’s a Sailor (Bill)

Here was a jolly number. An English skiffle group singer, Lonnie Donegan, had a hit with "My Old Man’s a Dustman" (same melody).

15. I Am a Rock, Simon and Garfunkel, 1966 (Jack)

Beautiful and bitter. A man loves, loses and vows never to be hurt again. He does this by never letting anyone get close to him. This is some of Paul Simon’s best writing.

16. The Sound of Silence, Simon and Garfunkel, 1965 (Jack)

Another gem from Simon’s pen.

17. Over the River and Through the Woods, Lydia Maria Child, 1844 (Anne)

Here’s a song for Thanksgiving week.

18. These Boots Were Made for Walkin’, Nancy Sinatra, 1966 (Dawn)

Here was the 26 year old, sultry daughter of Frank Sinatra, spitting her venom in song-form on TV, dressed in go-go boots.

19. Bad Moon Rising, CCR, 1969 (Dawn)

It’s an old club standard.

20. Drunken Sailor, 1839 (Dawn)

“Hey ho and up she rises!”

21. Brain Damage, Pink Floyd, 1973 (Dan)

This could have gone better, but I was determined to get in a Pink Floyd song on a ukulele, an idea which still tickles me, six years after my revelation that rock music could be expressed through a uke.

22. Take Me Home, Country Roads, John Denver, 1971 (Dawn)

With a minute to go before the close of proceedings, we sneaked in a couple of verses and choruses, but quit before the bridge.

For our next session, the topic is NONSENSE WORDS in a song, such as hut sut ralson on the rillah rah, sh-bop sh-bop, dee do do do dee da da da, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and pachalafaka. I bet there are some children’s songs that would apply. Children love nonsense. They can be so childish.

-- Dan.