First, some background.
Being a Mom, many years of my life were saturated in Barney, Sesame Street and other young child oriented television. While I've gladly forgotten most of the songs generated by that obnoxious purple dinosaur, most of the songs from Sesame Street remain with me today. This is probably due to the fact that I also grew up with Sesame Street, and many of the songs the kids were prompted to sing were favorites of mine. Who could forget such hits as Cookie, Cookie, Cookie Starts With C or Rubber Ducky? Let's not forget the fun little tune Mah Na Mah Na, (which actually originated from a Swedish Porn film, but that is definitely a story for another entry).
Sesame Streets mission, to educate and entertain children, has been using music as a primary medium of incorporating both of these tasks into one easy delivery method. If you want a child to remember something, repeat it a LOT. What better way to do this than with a song that the child can enjoy singing, and unknowingly be learning something in the process? Oodles of music artists have lined up to have their turn as a guest on Sesame Street. Some so their kids could see them on the show, others just for the joy of interaction with the puppets. Children have been exposed to various types of music before they were old enough to learn preferences or prejudices against any style of music. From Lena Horne to Ziggy Marley, and Aaron Neville to Steve Tyler, just about every venue of music has been aired on Sesame Street.
When #3 was about 18 months old, he and I were watching Sesame Street after I got home from work one day. He heard the song I Don't Want To Live On The Moon and it was instantly his favorite song. He repeatedly asked me to sing "Moon" to him at bedtime. Fortunately at that time, I was taping the show during the day while the kids were in daycare, and we would watch the shows together in the afternoon and evenings. With the tape, I was able to pause, rewind and fast forward as needed to jot down all the words to the song, and learn it by playing the whole thing back.
For the next few years, until #3 was about 4 years old or so, that was his bedtime request to be sung to him. He fell asleep to that song almost every day for almost 3 years. On days he didn’t feel well, he would climb into my lap and ask to be cuddled while I sang it to him.
For those interested in the lyrics, here you go:
I Don't Want To Live On The Moon
Written by Jeff Moss
1978 Festival Attractions, Inc. (ASCAP)
Well, I'd like to visit the moon
On a rocket ship high in the air
Yes, I'd like to visit the moon
But I don't think I'd like to live there
Though I'd like to look down at the earth from above
I would miss all the places and people I love
So although I might like it for one afternoon
I don't want to live on the moon
I'd like to travel under the sea
I could meet all the fish everywhere
Yes, I'd travel under the sea
But I don't think I'd like to live there
I might stay for a day there if I had my wish
But there's not much to do when your friends are all fish
And an oyster and clam aren't real family
So I don't want to live in the sea
I'd like to visit the jungle, hear the lions roar
Go back in time and meet a dinosaur
There's so many strange places I'd like to be
But none of them permanently
So if I should visit the moon
Well, I'll dance on a moonbeam and then
I will make a wish on a star
And I'll wish I was home once again
Though I'd like to look down at the earth from above
I would miss all the places and people I love
So although I may go I'll be coming home soon
'Cause I don't want to live on the moon
No, I don't want to live on the moon
While I love to sing, and my children like to hear me and sing with me, I don't hold a candle to Ernie singing this song.