WE JUST COULDN'T SAY GOODBYE

One of the things my mom did when my sis and I were little was to sing to us. She first started out with childish songs that we could learn and sing along with her. Besides “Row Row Row your boat” we learned one about cats:

O where is my kitty, my little grey kitty?
I wandered the fields all around
I looked in the cradle and under the table
but nowhere could kitty be found.

and dogs:

Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone
Oh where, oh where can he be
With his ears cut short and his tail cut long
Oh where, oh where can he be?

I probably remember these because they were sad songs and my sister and I worried about the animals. I’d guess if my mom had any idea that we were upset with them she wouldn’t have added them to her repertoire.

But mom also sang some of the songs that were popular in the 1930s, and throughout the years after mom died, Ginnie Lou and I would talk about how lucky we were to have a mom that read poetry and sang songs to us. Probably our favorite of all the songs was one called “We Just Couldn’t Say Goodbye”. The idea of furniture in the house being involved in human lives was fascinating to us. Ginnie and I talked a lot about our family’s furniture having eyes to see what was going on, and on occasion, if one of us was going to sneak an extra piece of candy or something similar, we’d pat the couch and say, “Now don’t look!”

Anyway, here are the lyrics to that song.

We thought that love was over,
That we were really through,
I said I didn't love her,
That we'd begin anew
And you can all believe me,
We sure intended to,
But we just couldn't say goodbye.

The chair and then the sofa,
They broke right down and cried,
The curtains started wavin'
For me to come inside.
I tell you confidentially,
The tears were hard to hide,
And we just couldn't say goodbye.

The clock was striking twelve o'clock
It smiled on us below,
With folded hands it seemed to say,
"We'll miss you if you go."

So I went back and kissed her,
And when I looked around,
The room was singin' love songs,
And dancing up and down.
And now we're both so happy,
Because at last we've found.
That we just couldn't say goodbye.

As well as I can remember we never heard it played on the radio, but lo and behold, now YouTube has a Frank Sinatra rendition of it that is a little bit more draggy than my mom’s rendition but will let you hear the tune. (Besides, who is to say anything against anything Old Blue-Eyes did!) Have a listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzimwnbDBqQ

I had a lovely childhood and in spite of the fact that I read Dr. Seuss and sang Girl Scout songs to my kids, I hope they enjoyed their childhoods too.

And now that you know, be careful. Your furniture has eyes!