Do you sing as often as you should?
Tyrades! by Danny Tyree
I don’t remember my mother singing much to me and my brother during our formative years.
(Technically, I’m still in my formative years – if you count forming calluses, wrinkles, reasons to go to bed before nine…)
Sure, Mom did a dutiful job of singing in church (while Dad hummed), but there wasn’t the one-on-one, “patty cake, patty cake” experience seen in some families. (Somewhere I came up with the misheard “The Farmer in the Deal,” but I don’t think there was a maternal aspect to the transaction.)
Maybe that lack of preparation is why I had so much anxiety before first riding a bus. I kept imagining that the wheels would go “to and fro” or “side to side” or “over the cliff.” My more pampered peers were quite haughty about having the whole “round and round” paradigm figured out early. I hope London Bridge is falling down on their condo.
This is my way of saying, the world would be a better place if people sang more often.
We need to warble a tune whether in the shower or during a commute or while hiking near a cemetery. (Why whistle past the graveyard if you can belt out “Don’t Fear the Reaper” or “Stayin’ Alive”? Lyricists gotta eat, too. Unless they’re, you know, in the cemetery.)
There’s room for growth. A 2024 Harris Poll reveals that only 37 percent of respondents overall admit to singing in the shower or when otherwise alone. This includes a high of 59 percent for Gen Z and a low of 17 percent for Boomers.
The high rate for Gen Z is partly attributable to those whippersnappers having had music constantly available all their lives. We Boomers had our favorite songsmiths, but we were at a disadvantage until transistor radios became commonplace. (“Mike’s phonograph needle broke! Now I’ll keep wondering, ‘Bird bird bird, bird is the…’ WHAT?”)
Our parents in the Greatest Generation were the ones who made an event out of waiting patiently for the whistle of a train or the “Bob…WHITE!” of a bobwhite quail. Alas, Ticket Master put a stop to such entertainment with endless surcharges.
Singing in the workplace can be a great team-building exercise. So join in a chorus of “Happy Birthday to You.” Don’t be the wallflower holding up a “Ditto” sign afterwards.
You and your co-workers can even form a barbershop quartet. Just hope that there’s no recession. (“Down by the old mill stream…where you’ll be living in a van if the quarterly report stinks…”)
Your friends and relatives may have a hard time adjusting if they’re not accustomed to your being so uninhibited. Cheerfully remind them, “The secret is practice, practice, practice.” Just be ready if their answer is, “No, the secret is location, location, location. Get back into the soundproof vault until you no longer sound like a dying calf in a hailstorm.”
Maybe you feel unworthy to emulate your musical heroes. My wife, our son and I get around that obstacle by changing the lyrics. Nothing builds family togetherness like singing the Eagles song “Take It Easy” as “Well, I’m running down the road tryin’ to find a commode.” Unless it’s the plaintive Bee Gees confession “I started a smell that started the whole world gagging…”
Don’t be bashful. Sing. Sing as if wearing your pajamas to an Early Bird Special is normal…
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Copyright 2026 Danny Tyree, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.
Danny Tyree welcomes email responses at tyreetyrades@aol.com and visits to his Facebook fan page “Tyree’s Tyrades.”
Copyright 2026 Danny Tyree, All Rights Reserved. Credit: Cagle.com
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