Day 29 - A Song from Your Childhood

This entry a part of the 30 Day Song Challenge

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The first music CDs I got were compilations of nursery rhymes and folk songs. At 7 years old I was not exactly in the know when it came to pop music. But I could sing a Don Spencer song by heart if you asked me to.

In Year One of primary school, our Mondays began with a show-and-tell session. I remember how proud I was to share with my classmates that my dad had gotten me two CDs. You see, my dad had won a stereo set from this local contest so we took a trip to the record bar that weekend. I don’t remember bringing the CDs with me to class but I was excited to be able to share something with everyone. So I did; I said “my dad got me CDs this weekend.” But the teacher’s response had me rather perplexed: “Wow, that’s nice. Did you water them?” My English was poor so I didn’t know how to ask her to clarify her question; I just thought it was best to nod my head.

It later dawned on me that my teacher thought I said, “my dad got me seedlings this weekend.” Hilarious! And for I while I’d pictured myself with a watering can in hand, sprinkling water on my new compact discs.

When it comes to music from my childhood, the tunes that come to mind are: Puff the Magic Dragon, Hickory Dickory Dock, Hot Cross Buns, Play School, and Waltzing Matilda, among others. But if we’re talking about pop songs, the first one I recall to have ever heard was Tina Turner and Jimmy Barnes’s Simply the Best.

Simply the Best
Tina Turner & Jimmy Barnes
Simply the Best [Special Single]
(Released 1992)

The song (originally titled The Best) was first released by Tina Turner in 1989. But this version with Jimmy Barnes was used in a campaign for the New South Wales Rugby League three years later. So I occasionally heard the song and saw the ad on TV. Tina’s original recording is superb, of course, but I like this version better because she and Jimmy Barnes make a powerful duet (check out the music video below). I wasn’t that exposed to the music of the times so it almost seemed like a given that I was going to like this song. It’s been almost two decades, and you know? I still think it’s a pretty great track!

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