As I've become an Auntie recently, I've been having to dig into my archive of songs I know that are fun to sing, so that I can get the little one to sleep when her mama isn't able to.

So, What is a song that you love to sing? What songs do you love to sing just because you think they're flattering to your voice? If you had to sing a baby to sleep, what song would you choose? Is there a certain song you always find yourself singing in certain situations? A go-to favourite that you sing in the shower or while doing dishes?

For me, I sing Go To Sleep Little Baby from O' Brother, Where Art Thou? when trying to get Scarlett to calm down. I sing Lean on Me at work when I try to start a fast-food sing along. And when I'm by myself and in a singing mood, I go to Hallelujah. And I'd have to say I choose all of them because I have a very deep voice and none of those songs have any super-high notes that I'd have to strain to hit. I sing them just because I think they make my voice, as untrained as it may be, sound decent.

So

What about you?

Haha, I walk around and sing a lot. Pretty much anything on my mind. This leads to some awkward moments. I was singing Teenage Kicks the other day while walking into a classroom, and I was at the "I wanna hold you wanna hold you tight, get teenage kicks right through the night!" part, while opening the door, the teacher is just like "0.o".

Songs stuck in my head recently: Sex and Candy, Comfortably Numb, Teenage Kicks, Mr. Tambourine Man, She Shook Me All Night Long, Hazel's Den.

Songs you should sing to the little one: Mr. Tambourine Man, The Elements Song, the song that's like "Baby shark doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo, baby shark doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo, baby shark doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo, baby shark. Mama shark doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo, mama shark doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo, mama shark doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo mama shark." (Don't forget the hand motions! We were singing this during lunch the other day, I might be able to get my friends to do it again if you don't know it.), Big Bang Theory Theme Song, Weird Al's Star Wars song, or any songs from commercials.

Oh, The Trooper is always a go-to song in History if we're learning about anything extra gory. My hair was made for this sort of thing. The Trooper + air guitar + head banging. It's awesome when you get like 6-7 people to do it together, or in a harmony. Usually get through like a verse before the teacher calls it off.

i ADORE the name Scarlett--Valentine's first place in my heart, but Scarlett's definitely up there. Congrats on yr sister's bebeh, tell her she has good taste in names

as for singing...anything by the Decemberists is usually game, as well as Madeleine Peyroux's cover of "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go." My poor roommates. On my off days it's the Yeah Yeah Yeahs screeched in the shower ("I got a man, beggin' for me, I got a man, MAKES the DEvil pale," etc).

Funny... I read this and thought of a song my sister does with her Brownies (USA: Girl Scouts), but thought that Yannick ^ had done too many 'doo's. But, in searching for it, found a different version which matches the above lyrics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqV1O5eeA9Y

My sister and her girls sing pretty much the same words, but to the Mahna Mahna song from The Muppet Show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M52a37B6hP4

i.e: Baby Shark, do dooo do do do. Baby Shark, do do do do. Baby Shark, do doooo do do do, do do do, do do do, do do do do do do do do-do do.

(obviously)

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I pretty much spend a vast proportion of my day singing random songs. Sometimes it is whatever is on the radio, sometimes the last song I heard as I get to work, sometimes a song pops into my head from nowhere and I begin to sing that. And, more often than not, I make up stupid songs to do with whatever is going on. According to my sister, I used to do this when I was little too - making up songs about the things I could see ("Theeeeeeere's a lamp post out the wiiiiiindow").

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As for singing to children, my own favourites as a child were "Puff The Magic Dragon", and "Two Little Boys".

Hobbes, their version is still a little bit different from the one I learned. ;P I miscounted, it's seven doo's after the noun/verb, not eight. In this order: Baby shark (both hands clapping), Mama Shark (both hands clapping, a little bit bigger), Daddy shark (both hands, a lot bigger than mommy), Grandma shark (hands like a fist, clapping), Grandpa shark (hands in fist, bigger than Grandma, going swimming (swim), here they come (shark fin waving above your head), swimming faster (swim faster), shark attack (do this crazy dance), lost a leg (hop around on one leg), lost an arm (continue hopping around on one leg, with one arm behind your back), CPR (perform CPR on yourself), it's not working (try CPR harder), there's no time (point to your wrist), going to heaven (flap your angel wings), gonna meet Jesus (do that thing where you put your two fists together and sort of keep moving them in circles before you).

These girls got the doo's right: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBbYRd-yOaw

Then there's the Baby Alligator version for Gatorland field trips.

Camp songs ftw.

When I'm deep in thought or singing without realizing I'm singing, I sing the A-team theme song. When I try to sing the A-team theme song consciously I end up singing the Gargamel portion of the smurfs song instead.

As for what I like to sing, it's usually some rock song with deeper vocals. When things start to get too high pitched I sound pretty bad. Mostly I just sing with songs I like when they're playing. This has only ever been bad when I've been in the library or class (when I actually attended school on a campus) listening to my iPod and started singing along without noticing I was. Most of my singing happens in the car and I'll shamelessly sing at the top of my lungs with my windows down.

I don't think that I know anything appropriate for singing a kid to sleep, unless I'm belting out a Sarah Mac song or something, but even she cusses in her melodic songs.

Sarah Mac?... As in McLachlan? <3

She's an infant...she doesn't know the difference yet.

I started singing her "you are my sunshine" - the way it was meant to be sung, slow and sad.

Zero 7 or Sia flatter my voice, but really, i'm not too much of a singer. it does really feel good to belt one out every once in a while, though. :)

Bad Religion!

I have to confess, I'm a bit of a crooner once I get in the shower ¬.¬

At the moment, I like to sing Bat For Lashes stuff, albeit off-key by a mile, but I change it up every now and then with some U2, Verve, Stereophonics etc. I've only sung publicly once, outside of a karaoke environment, and I sang "The Drugs Don't Work" by the Verve almost til the end, before my stage fright got the better of me.

Oooh, choice. Gorgeous tune.

I have a voice made for bellowing, so singing children to sleep is not my forte. Get me on Faith No More or Metallica, though, and yer in for a treat. My club-style James Hetfield impersonation has had them rolling in the aisles of the inns of Staffordshire.

If we're talking karaoke, though, my tune of choice is 'Red Alert' by Basement Jaxx. If you ain't heard it sung in the manner of a drunken male crooner, you ain't heard it PERIOD.

Yup. I'm horrible at spelling her name, so I usually just go for Mac. lol Love her music.

now for some intraforum referencing...

you should totally learn one of the songs improv-ed in the chatroulette video that was linked to today...

and then sing that to the youngling

Haha, I will.
"Reclining dude in a white tank top...leaning his head on his hand. Semi italian looking...just like his parents had planned. Probably hanging in New York City, From the looks of the walls...I only hope he does not choose to show me his ba-"

An old online-friend of mine in the USA once sent me a copy of Sarah McLachlan's album 'Surfacing' entirely out of the blue, and I quickly fell in love with every song on it. Just found out today she's got a new album out soon, so my palms are sweaty with anticipation.

Oh a new one! Yay! I have to say that Afterglow is my favorite of hers with Surfacing running a very close second. I've had to buy Fumbling Toward Ecstasy three times now because people keep swiping it.

Ok I think I should end my total Sarah Mac geekiness now.

I was listening to my friend's iPod yesterday and noticed she had some Sarah McLachlan on it. Tried it out, but not my thing. I had to stop when I was informed she's the one that sings on those PETA commercials.