Inch Worm

INCH WORM

Written by Frank Loesser in 1952 Sung by Danny Kaye in Hans Christian Anderson

Inch worm, inch worm Measuring the marigolds Could it be, stop and see How beautiful they are [Chorus:] Two and two are four Four and four are eight Eight and eight are sixteen Sixteen and sixteen are thirty-two Inchworm, inchworm Measuring the marigolds You and your arithmetic You'll probably go far [Repeat Chorus] Inchworm, inchworm Measuring the marigolds Seems to me you'd stop and see How beautiful they are

I listen to this song and I am transported back to my childhood. I can envision an LP album (that would be a 33RPM one, the large ones) in my parents living room, a picture of Danny Kaye perhaps on the front of the album. I can picture my mom singing along with the tune. I can picture the movie with Danny Kaye singing the song to a bunch of children – and to a little inchworm on a leaf.

Music feeds the souls and feeds our memories. Like a time space capsule, we are taken back to various times in our lives, remember ourselves as a young child, perhaps. Or remembering a parent, a friend, a movie, a place. It is as though we are watching a movie that took place years ago, with ourselves as one of the characters. We are IN the movie yet we are watching the movie from our present life. Disconnected yet connected at the same time.

There are other songs I can remember. Some make me smile, some make me weep. All are precious to me.

Here are some that I can recall at the moment:

Any of the songs from the Sound of Music, Mary Poppins. Grow Old Along With Me With You (from the musical Pippin) There is Love – by Paul Stookey Both Sides Now (Carly Simon) Barry Manilow Songs The Piano Guys music Campfire Songs from Girl Scout days

My list would go on and on. The playlist on my phone has many of the old songs I love and hold dear.

What does your playlist look like?