Words Of Wisdom

The key to success in performing this song is to do so with seriousness. Have your students sing the words with genuine reverence as if they were gems of wisdom to be shared. Pick a soloist who can be confident, clearly understood and "wise-looking" (someone in a buttoned up sweater with elbow patches and neatly combed hair a la Perry Como comes to mind - we would have listened to Perry's advice, right?). Our soloist was Rachel Moody, who is a naturally serious young lady. Hearing her sing such silly words got us all grinning. Have your soloist put his or her hand on the shoulder of person 1 just as the wisdom is about to begin. Similarly, this occurs at the end.

You could add pantomimed movement to emphasize certain words or phrases for interest in the song. This might be effective if only used during some sections, such as the verse. For the chorus, let your students sway naturally from side to side with the rollicking beat.

The real magic of the tune happens when the soloist turns to the audience and proclaims, "Everybody sing!" By now, your audience may actually know the words to the chorus. But just in case, you can either print them in the program (which would unfortunately reveal the humor of the song prematurely), or you could have them printed up on cue cards that you bring out. Projecting them onto the wall with an overhead projector would be good, too. Or if you have a computer program that allows such things, a bouncing ball following the lyrics would be hilarious!

We have added banjo, acoustic guitar, and strings to our rendition of the tune on the recording. We think these make it pretty slick, but you can perform this one with just piano, if you prefer. Maybe have your soloist hold a guitar and play or pretend to play as he or she sings. Wholesome is a good overall attitude to go for.