Sing! Sing a Song!

Probably, like me, you're all "shoppinged out" about now. Any gifts-still-to-buy are probably gifts-still-to-buy because you really can't picture anything that Great Aunt Edith could possibly want, need or aspire to own now that she's bed-ridden and languishing in her well meaning but extremely limiting nursing home; or you've searched and searched and you still can't find that perfect first edition copy of We of the Never Never for your good friend, Jeanne; or you absolutely refuse to buy yet another cricket bat for your cricket obsessed son; or some other nightmare shopping scenario like that.

Perhaps as a good Reformed Presbyterian you don't do Christmas shopping. In that case, I'm sure you're avoiding the shopping strips like the plague...after all there are a lot more of them than you...Christmas shoppers, I mean. Why brave town now when the Boxing Day Sales are only 11 days away...

I guess that either way you're not going to thank me when I tell you that there's just one other thing that you've really gotta rush out and buy...right now...today.

The Sing! Songbook 2009 is here!!


I've already blogged about these wonderful songbooks here. As an Australian AOer you really can't live without them. Folksongs instantly become a doddle...there's no more worrying about inappropriate lyrics or coarse language, and they don't change the words or the tune 'just to leave their own stamp' on a song. They're set in the right key for young singers, and they're fun and interesting - both for the kids and their parents. There's a variety of song categories: classic Australian folk; Aboriginal, world folk; Christmas, popular, show tunes, and choir music are a few from this year's selection.

The Sing! Book 2009 contains 50 songs, many of which are based on 2009's theme, The Environment. We don't set our year's folksong selections until this book is released, but at first glance we'll be including some or all of the following from this edition:

• Anything You Can Do from the Musical Annie Get Your Gun. We've sung bits of this song for years. Now we'll all know the words!
• We'll learn The Overlander as one of our Australian folksongs. We might learn Snow Gum too - that looks good!!
• About this time next year well be singing Petit Papa Noel, which we'll have learned as one of our three French folksongs in term three.
• We've gotta take a look at When Handel Wrote the Fireworks Suite in Composer Study - we learn about Handel in AO2.

Then there's Grandma's Grammar Rap, and the Maori song of farewell, Imeme Takake. Indian Pacific looks great, and I love You Raise Me Up by Secret Garden's Rolf Lovland. Okay, stop already! I think you get the idea! These books are marvellous - worth braving the pre-Christmas shopping centre for even. Don't miss out!

You'll need to purchase the four CDs - two with words, two with the music only - and the Book for the lyrics. There's a Teacher's handbook too...you don't need that - save your money. Buy the set online, or from the excellent ABC Bookshops.

You can listen to the lyrics to four songs from this year's book here.

Oh, by the way, if you're really stuck for a gift for your cricket-obsessed teen (or husband), I might just be able to help you there too. While you're in the ABC Bookshop picking up your copy of The Sing! Book, take a look at the beautiful new edition of the Australian classic 10 for 66 and all that by Arthur Mailey.

First published in 1958, Arthur Mailey's classic autobiography is now back in print in a beautiful hardback gift edition. This is a cricketing classic by a talented cricketer from a very different era. It's an entertaining read - if you're a cricket lover...which I'm not...and it's beautifully written. Jane Gleeson-White in her wonderful book, Australian Classics says this:

10 for 66 and all that is now recognised as one of the classics of world cricket writing, celebrated for its story of Mailey's extraordinary life...for his sharp insights into the game of cricket and for the thoughtful warmth and humour of his writing.

So there you are. You son/husband in your life will love his new cricket book, and you'll be happy that's he's loving a living book. You'll both be happy...

P. S. Don't mention it...I'm glad to help...

P. P.S. Sorry I can't help with Great Aunt Edith...