"Birthin' Them GRAND-babies..."

It's all in the family. Read about it HERE. Mother births her own grandchildren.

Just reading that wire story brought to mine my singing days at UNC Chapel Hill with the Clef Hangers, and in later years singing in competition barbershop quartets...repertoires always consisted of the funny and quirkily worded songs that were real crowd pleasers. They make for a fun read, even if you can't hear the song!

In line with the headline that prompted today's blog was a barbershop arrangement that was a very difficult song to memorize and 'get under control' as I remember...it's called "I'm My Own Grandpa":

I'm my own grandpa.
I'm my own grandpa.
It sounds funny, I know, but it really is so,
Oh, I'm my own grandpa.

Now many, many years ago, when I was twenty-three,
I was married to a widow who was pretty as could be.
This widow had a grown-up daughter who had hair of red.
My father fell in love with her, and soon they, too, were wed.

This made my dad my son-in-law and changed my very life,
My daughter was my mother, cause she was my father's wife.
To complicate the matter, even though it brought me joy,
I soon became the father of a bouncing baby boy.

My little baby then became a brother-in-law to Dad,
And so became my uncle, though it made me very sad.
For if he was my uncle, then that also made him brother
Of the widow's grown-up daughter, who, of course, was my stepmother.

Father's wife then had a son who kept him on the run,
And he became my grandchild, for he was my daughter's son.
My wife is now my mother's mother, and it makes me blue,
Because, although she is my wife, she's my grandmother, too.

Now if my wife is my grandmother, then I'm her grandchild,
And everytime I think of it, it nearly drives me wild,
For now I have become the strangest case you ever saw
As husband of my grandmother, I am my own grandpa!

I'm my own grandpa.
I'm my own grandpa.
It sounds funny, I know, but it really is so,
Oh, I'm my own grandpa.

I think you can understand why that would be a difficult song to polish up!

Another fun song was one I sang with The Clefs at Carolina, "Shame and Scandal":

Woe is me, shame and scandal in de family,
Woe is me, shame and scandal in de family.

In Trinidad there was a family,
With much confusion as you can see;
There was a mama and a papa and a boy who was grown,
Who wanted to get married, have a wife of his own.

He found a girl who was suiting him nice,
And went to his papa to ask his advice,
His papa he say, "Son, I gotta say no,
The girl is your seester, but your mama don't know!"

refrain

A week went by and the summer came down,
And soon the best girl on the island he found.
He went to his papa to name the day,
But his papa shook his head and to him he did say,
"You can't marry that girl, I have to say no,
The girl is your seester but your mama don't know!"

refrain

He went to his mama, and covered his head,
And told his mama what his papa had said,
His mama she laugh and say, "Go, man, go -
Your papa ain't your papa but your papa don't know!"

Too much fun to sing those songs....ah, those were the days...
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The cooler temperatures in the Carolinas sure made for a stellar weekend all around the board. The prospects for rain the next week are dismal, in direct opposition to all the brilliant sunshine we've had and will continue to have. Happy October 1st, saddle pals!