A co-worker is buying for her niece the big pink paperback of Free to be You and Me, created by Marlo Thomas 5,000 years ago (read: my childhood).
Free to Be You and Me was HUGE to my generation and I am glad to see it is being passed on. It's VERY 1970s. You know: women can do whatever they want to do, and men can be sensitive ... and blah blah blah - but the best thing about Free to Be You and Me was that it wasn't preachy at all. It was clever. It was witty.
Marlo Thomas called in favors from all of her old friends, to write sketches, write songs, perform on the album. Her friends include luminaries such as Shel Silverstein, Mel Brooks, etc. People with wit, humor. Non-treacly types.
Also, it's hilarious.
My friends and I (all of whom comment on my blog - you will recognize the names Beth and Betsy) were in a production of this when we were ... 11? Something like that.
Does anyone else out there have any intense Free to Be You and Me memories?
Here are a couple of mine:
"There's a land that I see
where the children are free
And I say it ain't far
To this land from where we are
Take my hand, come along
Lend your voice to my song
Come along, take my hand
And we'll li-ive
In the land
Where the children run free
In the land
Of a green country
In the land
Where the horses are free
And you and me are free to be
You and me..."
I can hear the music in my head right now. I feel like I am 8 years old right now.
What else?
"You're bald! You're bald as a ping-pong ball, are you bald!"
"Brothers and sisters
Sisters and brothers
Ain't we every-o-one
Brothers and sisters
Sisters and brothers
Every brother's father
Every mother's so-on..."
"It's all right to cry
Crying gets the sad out of you
It's all right to cry
It might make you feel better..."
"Ladies first! Ladies first!" "BU-URP!"
Anyone else remember anything?
Mommy's are people
People with children
When Mommy's were little they used to be girls
Like some of you
But then they grew...
Jill told Bill
That it was lots of fun to cook
Bill told Jill
That he could bait a real fish hook
So they made oooey gooey
Chocolate cake icky licky
And they sat by the river
And they ate it...
A doll, a doll, William wants a doll...
Okay - I need to stop - But I'm so glad to hear that the music goes on!!!
Posted by: Betsy at March 18, 2004 2:39 PMOne of the first albums I ever memorized the lyrics to. I can almost hear the deep, sonarous voice of Rosey Grier telling me its all right to cry. That was before I saw "The Thing With Two Heads". Now I know why he wanted to cry.
My other favorite cuts were "William's doll" and "My Dog the Plumber" because lets face it there is nothing more entertaining to an 8 year old than a dog as a plumber.
Posted by: Rad World at March 18, 2004 2:44 PMI forgot that that was Rosie Grier. So cool!
Posted by: red at March 18, 2004 2:50 PMSome mommies drive taxis/or sing on TV.....(must be sung wearing rainbow suspenders and gigantic Gloria Steinham glasses....) uhh..ok, but I have never known any Mommy taxi drivers...or tv singing stars, for that matter. In Wakefield, our Mommies worked at the URI athletic ticket office, or Health Center, or gave guitar lessons. But I guess the point was SOME, not ours. ha ha.
Posted by: Beth at March 18, 2004 6:34 PMI didnt discover that album until i was in my 30's!! Such a sad childhood! Anyway..i fell in love with it..Rachel Hamilton gave it to me. Any album with Mel Brooks and carol Channing is ok in my book!
Posted by: mitchell at March 18, 2004 6:56 PMWow... haven't thought about that record in almost 30 years. Damn, I feel old now. It more or less permanently occupied the little portable turntable my sister and I shared. I had listened to it hundreds of times, and by the time she was old enough to get into it, I had already moved on to ABBA and KISS and all the other 70's sounds.
Memories are kind fuzzy now.. let's see what I can dredge up:
"It's all right to cry, Crying takes the sad out of you"
Mel Brooks saying "I want to be a cocktail waitress!"
Alan Alda telling tale of Atalanta
"Sisters and Brothers, Brothers and Sisters, each and every one; Sisters and Brothers, Brothers and Sisters, every father's daughter, every mother's son."
Hmm, might need to go excavate the garage to see if we still have a copy. Now that Sis is married and trying for kids, though, perhaps I should just spring for a new CD version!
Posted by: El Capitan at March 18, 2004 8:07 PMHeh, what a tool I can be at times... I started commenting before I read all of Sheila's post, and mostly copied what she had already written... See what bringing you back in time 25 years will do? Hehehe...
Posted by: El Capitan at March 18, 2004 8:09 PM"I'm a girl! That's it! I knew it!! I....AM...A....GIRL!"
"Well, you don't have any hair."
"What?!"
"You don't have any hair."
"Ickkkk. Don't look!"
"Why? Why not?"
"A bald girl? Ick. Disgusting."
Gender roles. That album changed my life.
Alex
THat recrod was my first exposure to Mel Brooks. He is on that, right?
Posted by: Dan at March 19, 2004 11:01 AMYou're doing it to me again. Next you'll be talking about the Banana Splits or something...
Posted by: Ash at March 19, 2004 4:51 PMNa na na- nananana- na na na na na na na na...one banana, two banana, three banana, four...can't remember the rest of the words, but I know they were big freaky looking things, like Sigmund and the Seamonsters and HR Puff'n'stuff. Remember them??
Posted by: Beth at March 19, 2004 5:25 PM