Was singing old fashioned songs to my mom last week to calm her down (she has parkinsons'). Sang

"there's a hole in my bucket dear liza, dear liza" and "down by the bay,...., where the watermelon grow,..., back to my home,..., I dare not go,....," and "my eyes are dim I cannot see, I can not take my specs with me". Can you think of any other archaic songs she might appreciate? Neither one of us can carry a tune but we did enjoy it.

whose mother was in late stages of Alzheimer's and didn't really know where she was most of the time but Doris Day's Tea for Two had such a calming effect for her. My friend said she would just sit there with her mom and played that one song over and over and her mom would hold her hand and smile out the window.

My friend is an older lady and her mom was much older and my friend didn't know much about computers but making the cd was an easy thing for me and didn't take much in time or cost or materials but my friend never lets a chance go by to tell me how much she appreciated being able to sit with her mom in her final hours listening to that song and remembering when her mom used to sing it her.

Hope this helps and good luck with your mom and I doubt anyone in the universe cares that y'all can't carry a tune. I bet you carry them just fine.

... especially ones she sang to you.

daughter. :hug: <<<< for you and your mom

fa la la la la la la la la.

Grab your coat, and get your hat.
Leave your worries by the doorstep.
Just direct your feet
to the sunny side of the street.

and

When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother what would I be
would I be pretty,
would I be rich?
Here's what she said to me:
Que sera sera,
Whatever will be will be.
The future's not ours to see.
Que Sera sera.

and

I give to you and you give to me,
true love, true love.
And on and on it will always be,
true love, true love.
For you and I have a guardian angel on high
with nothing to do
but to give to you and to give to me
love forever true.

and

Gonna take a sentimental journey.
Gonna set my mind at ease.
Gonna take a sentimental journey
to recall old memories.
Got my bags, got my reservation.
(something something) no more to roam.
Gonna take a sentimental journey,
Sentimental journey home.

All really sweet songs, from the forties and fifties. I was told that the last words my mother said was "Got my bags, got my reservation." It somehow made me feel better, as though she believed she was about to take a sentimental journey home.

.
.
.
"Mairzy Doats"
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_1uQ9wn0qQ&feature=related
.
.
.
"On the Good Ship Lollipop"
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLLSqpYyPD8&feature=related
.
.
.
"Baby Face"
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCpmMl7oVn0&feature=related
.
.
.
"Do-Re-Mi" (from "The Sound of Music")
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_hcXiGb6_s
.
.
.

Sounds like you're doing Appalachian folk songs?
Or campfire ditties?
'Sourwood Mountain"
Even "I come from Alabama..."
Heck, "100 bottles of beer on the wall"
"My eyes are dim" is part of an OLD drinking song.
Best to you and your mom.
:thumbsup:

do you know 'Whispering Hope'?

"Not for Kids Only" -

1. Jenny Jenkins
2. Freight Train
3. A Horse Named Bill
4. Three Men Went A-hunting
5. When First Unto This Country
6. Arkansas Traveler
7. Hopalong Peter
8. Teddy Bears' Picnic
9. There Ain't No Bugs On Me
10. The Miller's Will
11. Hot Corn, Cold Corn
12. A Shenandoah Lullaby

There is a lot of info about this album, including where some of the songs came from here: http://www.deaddisc.com/disc/Not_For_Kids_Only.htm They also reference other albums on which some of the cuts from this album are included, but those may lead you to more songs to share. I would bet most, if not all the songs on this album are places where you can at least listen to them and get the words.

That would be a good selection of familiar memories for her, probably.

Here's a some I came up with and then I found a whole list of 'em (link below)! Some that I listed are on that list too:

Bye, Bye Blackbird
Big Rock Candy Mountain (this is a fun one)
On the Good Ship Lollipop
Oh You Beautiful Doll
Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey
Yes, We Have No Bananas
When You and I Were Seventeen
I'll Be Seeing You
Only You
Shuffle Off to Buffalo (this one and Dames) are from 42 Street
Dames
Maybe (Annie)
Good Night Irene
When You and I Were Seventeen
You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby
I Only Have Eyes For You
Minnie the Moocher
Someone to Watch Over Me (This and the next three are all on a Linda Ronstadt CD collection called 'Round Midnight)
When You Wish Upon a Star
Skylark

You can find quite a few of the above on I-Tunes. There's a song I'm thinking of but can't remember darn it, well I'll pass it along when I do.

http://www.jilldaniels.com/JILL_DANIELS_SONG_LIST_REPERTOIRE.htm

After the Ball (a runaway hit in 1892)
A Bicycle Built for Two (aka Daisy Bell) -- Ha! also from 1892, a rockin' year for songs
I Love You Truly (fun to sing comically) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJeWsivXm8g go to 6:20 approx. then again at 8:20, 12:30, 13:35, 16:40 and 17:48
My Wild Irish Rose
You Ought to Be in Pictures
She's Only a Bird in a Gilded Cage
In the Good Old Summertime
A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody

Here's another link to a list of songs:

http://www.lonestar.edu/library/kin_music2.htm