Stacy's House

I was re-watching Downton Abbey the other day (you can tell I’m missing Yorkshire) and got to the part where Mary Crawley sings “If You Were the Only Girl” for WWI soldiers. I was thinking not many 100-year-old songs would be familiar today. There’s “Over There,” of course, and “Smiles,” “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows,” and “Look for the Silver Lining,” which shows up in another Downton episode. Our nursing home singalongs often included much older hits. “By the Light of the Silvery Moon,” “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” and “Shine on Harvest Moon” were golden oldies long before the 80- and 90-something residents were born. But they still know and love them. My dad was fond of “Yes We Have No Bananas,” which was written fifteen years before his birth. In general, any generation’s favorite songs would be those popular during their teens. But they might also be the songs their parents and grandparents taught them.