Monday 21 November 2011

Favourite Things

Julie Andrews as "Fraulein Maria"
Raindrops on roses & whiskers on kittens.
Sometimes when I am having a particularly tough night I do what Fraulein Maria says to do and I simply remember my favourite things. It is clear that Maria and I are from completely different worlds as her favourite things are nothing like mine.
Let's start  at the very beginning, a very good place to start. LOL I couldn't help myself there.
So we have raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, neither of which I am particularly found of. I suppose I have seen a raindrop on a rose before but of all things in life, this would fall near the end of my list. As for the whiskers on kittens, wouldn't it be weird if the kitten had no whisks at all? Perhaps I just take that one for granted.
So now we have bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens. Bright copper kettle don't even make me smile and warm woollen mittens remind me of winter. So again we are at the bottom of the list.
Brown Paper packages tied up with strings are things  we take away from the bitter so that can go on my list. I like meat.
Cream coloured ponies and crisp apple strudel really do rank high for me. Ponies are just mini horses and to me seem like angry strong people trapped in an animals body. Apple desserts are gross and collectively fall at the bottom of my list.
Doorbells & sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodle. Hmmmm, this a tough one. Doorbells definitely have a great function in life but I can't get all exited and grant them favourite thing status. Sleigh bells to me are simply and instrument in the Christmas concert. I have never even seen a sleigh in real life so I am not buying this one. Schnitzel with noodle on the other hand is one of my favourite foods for sure! So finally me and Mrs. Von Trapp have something in common
I have been shit on too many geese in life to appreciate the wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings, so I am not even gonna discuss the merits of this one.
So when we break down this beloved song of Maria Von Trapp's favourite things we really begin to see that it must be the tune that has captured us for close to 50 years because that lady had some freaky favourite things.
One thing we have to remember I suppose is that Maria Von Trapp didn't write that song. It was written for the movie "The Sound of Music" and was more than likely a list of nobody's favourite things but rather a rhyming little jingle that made us all smile.
Julie Andrews won our hearts with her portrayal of the lovely nun who fell in love with a handsome Captain while eating schnitzel and admiring geese by night but I don't believe that the list of things we sing about today could possible be today.
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes? really? Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eye lashes? Wouldn't that make you dead? Fraulein Maria was way smarter that that. She didn't seem like the kinda lady that would love a blue satin sash better than anything.
She fled the Nazis in the 1930's and she and her family eventually settled in the States performing their magic for generations.
Her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to this day will sing those cherished songs in public concerts around the world. Poor old Maria has since passed away and the world is left with the odd appearance of Julie Andrews on "The View" to see the smile of Maria alive again.
I am not going to bother to list my own favourite things in song here today as mine would most not likely be g-rated but I did find a clever little parody of the song on the Von Trapp's website.  I like to think it was the song that the dear old Maria would have been singing in her final years. God Love her.
We all know the tune so please, take a moment and sing along to the new Von Trapp family's favourite things.


My Favorite Things – A Parody
Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favorite things.
Cadillacs and cataracts ,and hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favorite things.
When the pipes leak,
When the bones creak,
When the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.
Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favorite things.
Back pains, confused brains, and no need for sinnin',
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',
And we won't mention our short shrunken frames,
When we remember our favorite things.
When the joints ache,
When the hips break,
And the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I've had,
And then I don't feel so bad.
The Real Maria


Adieu, Adieu to you and you and you. xoxo


No comments:

Post a Comment