Just keep it inside, would you?


She's awesome. I hope she's not hanging out with some clown.
(photo courtesy of Boston Public Library Flickr)

Z was singing along soulfully to Bruno Mars' "When I Was Your Man" in the backseat on the way home from the grocery store. I like this song, musically and ideologically. It's a lament that he didn't treat her better and devote more time to her when he had the chance. It's not a bitter recrimination song but a wow-I-blew-it song, and I think this is probably not a bad thing for a 10-year-old girl to be ingesting. (Although having her sing the word "man" so many times in a semi-romantic context made me feel weird. Not ready to have her thinking about "men.")

It makes me think of my own diet of popular music at a similar age. Along with my box of old 45s, I had a K-Tel compilation that featured both the disco remake of "Knock on Wood" (good to have in my repertoire) and "Don't Cry Out Loud," which may have been the single worst song for a pre-adolescent girl to have as an earworm ever, ever, ever. (Worse even that the "Pina Colada Song," which I know was funny, but represents everything that was wrong with being a child in 70s.)


"Baby cried the day the circus came to town because she didn't want parades just passing by her. So she painted on a smile and took up with some clown and danced without a net up on the wire. ... Don't cry out loud. Just keep it inside. Learn how to hide your feelings. ..."


>gag<

I think this song damaged my psyche.

Apropos to be recalling this while reading Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen.

Reading: Yes

Writing: Yes

Dinner: Tonight's pizzas: Italian sausage and banana peppers & plain cheese.

Soundtrack: Alabama Shakes song on The Current in the morning made me think I need to check out more Alabama Shakes.

Random thing: First, let me say that for whatever reason, the sleep gods smiled at me, and I had a fantastic night's sleep on Sunday night. This is not a common occurrence and it makes an enormous difference in my general sense of well-being. I want to figure out how to make it happen m ore often, which I think probably involves finding a way to get more exercise.

The gerbils are getting very sociable, and they have learned to climb their cage.

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