Last time I was at Walmart, I went out and looked at the clearance plants; there weren't many to pick from, but there was a daisy marked down that looked healthy and happy for $3, so I grabbed it and took it home with me.
Today I posted some pictures of my various flowers on Facebook. Here is how I captioned the picture: "'Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I'm half crazy all for the love of you."
Later, thinking about that song, I said to my husband, "I wonder when that song was written. I'll bet it was before automobiles were in the picture." Sure enough, I was right. Not only did I find the age of the song, but I found an interesting story to boot! I also learned the actual name of the song, "Daisy Bell".
"Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)" is a song written in 1892 by British songwriter Harry Dacre with the well-known chorus "Daisy, Daisy / Give me your answer, do. / I'm half crazy / all for the love of you", ending with the words "a bicycle built for two". The song is said to have been inspired by Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, one of the many mistresses of King Edward VII.
When Dacre, an English popular composer, first came to the United States, he brought with him a bicycle, for which he was charged import duty. His friend William Jerome, another songwriter, remarked lightly: "It's lucky you didn't bring a bicycle built for two, otherwise you'd have to pay double duty." Dacre was so taken with the phrase "bicycle built for two" that he soon used it in a song. That song, Daisy Bell, first became successful in a London music hall, in a performance by Katie Lawrence. Tony Pastor was the first to sing it in the United States. Its success in America began when Jennie Lindsay brought down the house with it at the Atlantic Gardens on the Bowery early in 1892.
The song was originally recorded and released by Dan W. Quinn in 1893.
Now, if you aren't familiar with this song, I did a blog entry where I mentioned being in a school program: I pedaled my tricycle in a circle with a classmate riding on the back step of it. This is the time I wrecked my trike, throwing us both to the floor. I mentioned this (again this morning) to Cliff, and he laughed and said, "Even on a tricycle, you couldn't drive."
If you want to hear the 1892 version that wowed American audiences,
We're having a heat wave, which isn't anything strange in Missouri in July. It's funny, we always act as though it shouldn't be happening, knowing full well that it's the norm here. It's clear that global warming is real: icebergs are melting, lakes are disappearing. But temperatures in the 90's are nothing new here. I used to make fun of people who couldn't live without air conditioning, but over in our old house we finally got a small window unit so we could sleep better at night. Once we moved to the trailer house, we had whole house air conditioning.
God bless the man who invented air conditioning.
I'm in the same position as last year, dragging soaker hoses from one row to another. Half the garden isn't planted because I can only handle so much, especially in this heat. About this time last year, I swore I was going to cut down the size of the garden, and I have. Oh, it's the same space, but there are plenty of spots where nothing is planted. I swore I wouldn't deal with soaker hoses again, yet here I am, doing it.
Cliff is having more trouble breathing all the time. He's now sleeping in the recliner all night. If he gets up in the night or early morning and goes on to bed, he coughs constantly. His last pulmonary doctor retired, but he does have an appointment with a new one in August. He and I both know how the asthma journey goes ... his mother and aunt both suffered with it all their lives. There's no cure.
Thanks to our next-door grandson, Cliff is still messing with old tractors, letting Arick do all the hard work as he gives instruction from the sidelines. Arick living next door has been a wonderful gift to my husband. He also mows, weed-eats, and carries any heavy loads for him. I don't know what we'd do without him.
For some reason I woke up thinking about one of my favorite folk songs this morning. I love the words to it.
Someday we'll roll away the stone That we have carried for so long All our burdens will be gone And I can't wait
We will find our way to An understanding of all views No prayer shall be refused I can't wait
It seems we have gone too far And now we don't know where we are I believe we'll find a guiding star But I can't wait
If faith is the final place Where all fears have been erased And the locks have fallen from the gates I can't wait
Someday we'll roll away the stone That we have carried for so long All our burdens will be gone And I can't wait
We will find our way to An understanding of all views No prayer shall be refused And I can't wait
Written by Fats Kaplin, Kevin Welch, and Kieran Kane
