“Darn! That’s the end!”

Today, this is what I’m doing while I’m supposed to be writing my novel. I blame the Discover Challenge: Song!

“Darn!”

A few months ago, while watching the grandkids while their parents were at work, this is the word I could have sworn (then) 21 month old Beej kept repeating.

I turned to CJ and asked, “Is he saying ‘darn’?”

CJ nodded, completely unfazed.

Having had previous problems with “shit” being Beej’s favorite word, I asked, “Where is he hearing this?”

“From the song, Nonna.” I looked at him questioningly and he continued, “You know, the song- “Darn! That’s the end!”” And he sang the familiar ending to a popular Schoolhouse Rock song.

I sang part of the song- “So when you’re happy- Hooray! Or sad- Aw! Or frightened- Eek! Or mad- Rats!” CJ nodded and Beej’s face broke out into a huge grin as he repeated, “Rats!”

“From the movie!” CJ added. “We watch it with my dad all the time.”

And just like that two mysteries were cleared up. The first being why the littlest guy was saying “darn.” The second was the location of our “Schoolhouse Rock” videos.

This song, and all the others that were part of the “Schoolhouse Rock” series, takes me back not only to my children’s childhood but my own as well.

“Schoolhouse Rock” aired during Saturday morning cartoons in the 70’s. While I have a somewhat fuzzy recollection of a few of them, most of the Grammar Rock and America Rock series stuck with me.

The song that I remember best, and will remember until the day I die, is this one-

It helped me through the part of the Constitution test in 8th grade where we had to fill in the blanks of the Preamble and it also came in handy during history quizzes in high school.

Many of those songs stuck with me and as soon as my kids were nearing school age, I had to share the videos with them. It’s nice to know that my son has carried on the tradition with his own children. I love that the videos are simple and the songs are easy to memorize, as well as educational.

My other favorites include Conjunction Junction, The Tale of Mr. Morton, Unpack Your Adjectives, The Great American Melting Pot, No More Kings, and Mother Necessity.

And as I prepare to fall off the grid (and into my novel to make up 1500+ words), I’m wondering- are you familiar with the “Schoolhouse Rock” series? Do you have a favorite?  If so, which one(s) do you like?