This epiphany (if you can elevate my thoughts to that level - hehe) has roots in my long-time appreciation for "School House Rock" ~ those Saturday morning cartoons that made learning fun while you were munching on sugary cereal in your pajamas (Anyone in their 20's will know what I'm talking about . . .): Conjunction Junction, Interplanet Janet, How a Bill Becomes a Law, etc.

NOTE: Thanks Karen! Karen sent me a listing of some classic School House Rock titles! Enjoy: "I'm Just a Bill," "Three Is a Magic Number," "Conjunction Junction" (her personal favorite), "Electricity, Electricity," "Verb: That's What's Happening," "Interplanet Janet," "Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here," "Unpack Your Adjective," "The Tale of Mr. Morton," "No More Kings," "The Shot Heard 'Round the World," "My Hero, Zero," "The Energy Blues," and "Little Twelvetoes."

I also heard from another visitor who had this to add:
I'm nearly 14 years old now and for some reason I know all of those School House Rock songs. I also remember sitting in front of the tv, in my fluffly doggy slippers, eating apple-cinnamon oatmeal, singing along right with every word.

• "Interplanet Janet, she's a galaxy girl!"
• "Conjunction Junction what's your funtion? Tying up verb phrases and clauses!"
• "I'm just a bill, yes I'm only a bill and I'm sitting here on capitol hill. Yes it's a long long way to the capitol city" and the preamble song.

Oh I dearly remember sitting in my barbie night shirt, eating my oatmeal and getting it all over me, and just sitting there at 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday (an hour that's now un-heard of since now I sleep untill my mom comes in and wakes me up and says "Lunch's on the table, Brianna. Get up now!") I just had to mail this in beacuse I dearly remember this and I'm only 14, not 20.

What does School House Rock have to do with "The Love you Save"? (BTW, this song strikes me as a tad suggestive for boys 7-11 years old, but call me old-fashioned.) Here are the lyrics I have in mind, and see if you can predict what I'm going to say:

Isaac said he kissed you, beneath the apple tree.
Benjy held your hand, and felt electricity.
When Alexander called you, said he rang your chime.
Christopher discovered you're way ahead of your time.

What got me thinking was that Isaac's name is in the song, but not Taylor and Zac's. Then, I thought the euphemisms sounded odd to me. Finally, it dawned on me that these are all names of inventors or explorers. The references are to the inventions and discoveries each man is credited with making (Some of the stories associated with these men are folklore, but I guess that's part of history too.). The young lady in the song really did get around, I think. ;-D

Isaac Newton: gravity
Benjamin Franklin: electricity
Alexander Graham Bell: telephone
Christopher Columbus: the "new" world

Let me know if you think I'm completely insane or if this makes sense at all. (c:

don't accuse
There is something I noticed about "Don't Accuse" from the very first time I heard it. Now, I realized my random thought will fit nicely on this page. The following lyrics sounded very familiar to me:

When you prick us, do we not bleed?
When yo whip us, do we not weep?
When you hurt us, do we not cry?
When you stab us, do we not die?

For those who haven't heard this song, it's written from the perspective of a boy "who is lame." He asks the listener to take his perspective for a minute, or to "walk in his shoes" if you will. When I heard the song, it struck me, I had heard some of the words in a scene from the Shakespeare play, Merchant of Venice. The Jewish merchant, Shylock, speaks of having been the victim of prejudice. Although he's not a popular character, he asks for sympathy with these words:

If you prick us, do we not bleed?
If you tickle us, do we not laugh?
If you poison us, do we not die?

What do you think? Could Mrs. Hanson have been reading this play aloud as a bedtime story? Or do the guys have a bit of Shakespearian blood in their veins? (c: Either way, a coincidence, no?

Note: Well, those are my "insights" into these songs. Neither are among my favorite Hanson pieces. However, they both caused me to think. Which songs do I like on "Boomerang" (since we're on the topic.)? Top Three: Rain, Lonely Boy, (You probably can predict this last one.) More than Anything. (NOTE: I love Boomerang too, but I have been known to chuckle at the suggestive nature of some of the lyrics in this song as well . . . (=)

a minute without you
(This is from watching VH1 "Storytellers: Save the Music.")

What is so significant about 1440 hours? According to Isaac, Taylor and Zac: (This is the only math lesson from their music, they claim. (c:) 1440 is the number of minutes in a day: 60 x 24. It's 1440 hours, because "the minutes seem like hours and the hours seem like days . . ."

When I first heard this song, would you believe I actually did the math on it? Only, I was thinking in terms of hours so I divided 1440 by 24 hours. That meant 60 days . . . I thought, "How odd. They're thinking of a girl for about 2 months. What could that mean?" Maybe if I had thought more about the title of the song "A Minute Without You" or listened more closely to the lyrics, the true meaning would have dawned on me then. (grin)

mmmbop
According to a Korean interviewer, "bop" means rice in that language.  I wonder if Hanson  finds this food unconsciously "mmm mmm" good . . . (smile)

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