From: owner-edheads-digest@efohio.com (edheads-digest) To: edheads-digest@smoe.org Subject: edheads-digest V3 #107 Reply-To: edheads@efohio.com Sender: owner-edheads-digest@efohio.com Errors-To: owner-edheads-digest@efohio.com Precedence: bulk edheads-digest Thursday, August 31 2000 Volume 03 : Number 107 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Bonny Brook [Mary Hyland ] Re: Bonny Brook [Ody Granados ] Re: Bonny Brook [Nicole Carlson ] Re: Bonny Brook ["Susan Githens" ] RE: Bonny Brook [Rebecca Dick ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 12:33:32 -0400 From: Mary Hyland Subject: Re: Bonny Brook ImSerius2@aol.com wrote: > > Since the discussion on the meaning of songs (and subsequent rash of > unsubscribes!), I've been listening carefully to 'Bonny Brook'. I think it's > about a boarding school (late August to the middle of June, Thanksgiving time > never gave me anything, autumn's peak only makes me wish for spring, and the > daylight, and the wealth of time), full of students from all walks of life > (wooden ladles, silver spoons) - maybe even a school where the boys and girls > are segregated/separated (the queen next door is more than a house away, if > he wants to see me all he has to do is look) - oh yeah, and it's somewhere > obviously where it's dark early for most of the school year. > > As for the 'some will ask on one knee, others prefer two' and 'tell me Mrs. G > is your girl's name with a C or a K'...well, that adds a whole new layer, and > I haven't a clue what that's about, and welcome any debate or illumination. > > So - let's see how many more rats jump ship now that I've dared continue the > lyrical dissection. > > Suzie Tee > Who Has Her First Live EFO Experience in 15 Days AND > Who Knows More Now About Jack Kent Cook Than She Ever Thought Possible I totally agree with the school idea in "Bonny Brook". Actually, I think I remember Mike Clem discussing the song at a show. I think it was a school that a little girl he liked went to. She seemed to be always napping when he would try to go see her at her house. Maybe the "asking on one knee...", etc. refers to him wanting to propose marriage. The "some go in the morning, some in the afternoon" probably refers to morning or afternoon kindergarten. This girl went to Bonnie Brook, he didn't, and they could never meet. I think the reason they don't perform it is because it was recorded with fiddle and accordian. Maybe EFO hasn't worked up a version without these instruments. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 12:35:49 -0500 From: Ody Granados Subject: Re: Bonny Brook There is a school (kindergarten/nursery) in McLean (where Robbie and Mike are from) called Bonny Brook. Since McLean on one side of Rt. 123 is more affluent (read Langley/Great Falls) and the other is middle class (Pimmit Hills/McLean), it could very well be a reference to that school and its varied population as well as a reference to the innocence of youth. The "tell me Mrs. G " line could be a teacher at the school asking a parent about whether a girls name was Kathy or Cathy. Just my thoughts... Ody Granados Director, IS MCW Department of Family and Community Medicine odyg@mcw.edu 414 456-8830 Voice 414 456-6523 Fax ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 11:06:09 -0700 (PDT) From: Nicole Carlson Subject: Re: Bonny Brook Suzie Tee wrote: > > As for the 'some will ask on one knee, others prefer two' and 'tell me Mrs. G > > is your girl's name with a C or a K'...well, that adds a whole new layer, and > > I haven't a clue what that's about, and welcome any debate or illumination. I've always thought of "Bonny Brook" as a song about a bachelor living next door to a single mom--he's interested, maybe she's interested, but what with life being busy and him being shy, they never get anywhere. So *I* thought of "some will ask on one knee, others prefer two" as a contrast between a marraige proposal (one knee) and desperate begging for attention (two knees). "Tell me, Mrs. G., is your girl's name..." was, I thought, the guy's attempt at making small talk, only to find that Mrs. G. is asleep and his overtures of friendship are thwarted by exhaustion. Drat. Making things worse are the short fall days--by the time you're home from work, done making/eating dinner, and ready to socialize... it's too late to socialize. And matters won't improve until spring--six months away. Double drat. But there's an awful lot unaccounted for in my interpretation. The part about being free during the summers was especially puzzling to me (maybe one or both of them are teachers?), and so was the part about going in the mornings or afternoons (I had some tenuous notion about one of them driving a carpool, but it was kinda dumb). But Suzie's and Mary's "school" interpretations, frankly, make a lot more sense than mine, especially Mary's morning vs. afternoon kindergarten theory: > The "some go in the morning, some in the afternoon" probably refers to > morning or afternoon kindergarten. This girl went to Bonnie Brook, he > didn't, and they could never meet. > I think the reason they don't perform it is because it was recorded with > fiddle and accordian. Maybe EFO hasn't worked up a version without > these instruments. I can think of several studio-recorded songs that feature an Odd Instrument, and in each case the corresponding live version simply omits the Odd Instrument's part. (I'm thinking of "Old Dominion"/banjo, "Fifth of July"/organ, "Oh My Brother"/piano, and "Jerusalem"/violin.) Why not "Bonny Brook"? *nicole thinks* Maybe because violin'n'accordion get a much *larger* part of "Bonny Brook". But I dunno. And does anyone know what "Some part with a wooden ladle, some with a silver spoon" means? I'm stumped. :) - --nicole twn *** "You have carried your scars this far because you love them."--Peter Mulvey Visit Nicolopolis! http://wwwcsif.cs.ucdavis.edu/~carlsonn nmcarlson@ucdavis.edu ana.ng@tmbg.org carlsonn@seclab.cs.ucdavis.edu ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 14:15:51 -0400 From: "Susan Githens" Subject: Re: Bonny Brook Nicole asked, "And does anyone know what "Some part with a wooden ladle, some with a silver spoon" means? I'm stumped." Perhaps this is obvious, but we say that some people (the privileged) are born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Wooden ladle could be a nod toward the middle class. To be honest, this song has always puzzled me. Thanks for the discussion. >>> Nicole Carlson 08/30 2:06 PM >>> Suzie Tee wrote: > > As for the 'some will ask on one knee, others prefer two' and 'tell me Mrs. G > > is your girl's name with a C or a K'...well, that adds a whole new layer, and > > I haven't a clue what that's about, and welcome any debate or illumination. I've always thought of "Bonny Brook" as a song about a bachelor living next door to a single mom--he's interested, maybe she's interested, but what with life being busy and him being shy, they never get anywhere. So *I* thought of "some will ask on one knee, others prefer two" as a contrast between a marraige proposal (one knee) and desperate begging for attention (two knees). "Tell me, Mrs. G., is your girl's name..." was, I thought, the guy's attempt at making small talk, only to find that Mrs. G. is asleep and his overtures of friendship are thwarted by exhaustion. Drat. Making things worse are the short fall days--by the time you're home from work, done making/eating dinner, and ready to socialize... it's too late to socialize. And matters won't improve until spring--six months away. Double drat. But there's an awful lot unaccounted for in my interpretation. The part about being free during the summers was especially puzzling to me (maybe one or both of them are teachers?), and so was the part about going in the mornings or afternoons (I had some tenuous notion about one of them driving a carpool, but it was kinda dumb). But Suzie's and Mary's "school" interpretations, frankly, make a lot more sense than mine, especially Mary's morning vs. afternoon kindergarten theory: > The "some go in the morning, some in the afternoon" probably refers to > morning or afternoon kindergarten. This girl went to Bonnie Brook, he > didn't, and they could never meet. > I think the reason they don't perform it is because it was recorded with > fiddle and accordian. Maybe EFO hasn't worked up a version without > these instruments. I can think of several studio-recorded songs that feature an Odd Instrument, and in each case the corresponding live version simply omits the Odd Instrument's part. (I'm thinking of "Old Dominion"/banjo, "Fifth of July"/organ, "Oh My Brother"/piano, and "Jerusalem"/violin.) Why not "Bonny Brook"? *nicole thinks* Maybe because violin'n'accordion get a much *larger* part of "Bonny Brook". But I dunno. And does anyone know what "Some part with a wooden ladle, some with a silver spoon" means? I'm stumped. :) - --nicole twn *** "You have carried your scars this far because you love them."--Peter Mulvey Visit Nicolopolis! http://wwwcsif.cs.ucdavis.edu/~carlsonn nmcarlson@ucdavis.edu ana.ng@tmbg.org carlsonn@seclab.cs.ucdavis.edu ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 14:21:16 -0400 From: Rebecca Dick Subject: RE: Bonny Brook Ody is right -- they performed this song at the Barns this past winter and Mike talked about a little girl going to Bonny Brook -- I don't know all the details (sorry, I wasn't paying that close attention) but it's definitely about a little girl who goes to "Bonny Brook" a private school and a boy (Mike?) who doesn't. ------------------------------ End of edheads-digest V3 #107 *****************************