We were strolling down the beach, barefoot, hand in hand, with the blush of Friday’s sunset in the soft summer air. It seemed a good moment for a song like “Day is dying in the West” or “Wide, Wide as the Ocean”. Sure enough, a song came to me, but it wasn’t one of those. It was another one I’d learned as a child:
Herman met Sally on the beach one night
The sea was calm and the starfish were bright
He looked at her, and she looked at him
And it was: True love at first sight!
The story turns out to be a bit of a tragedy, however, for Herman’s family did NOT accept Sally. As only the Smothers Brothers could tell and sing the story, we learn that Herman was a lobster. And Sally was a crab. The chorus breaks the woeful news:
Crabs walk sideways and lobsters walk straight
And we won’t let you take her for a mate!
Growing up, I had a collection of Smothers Brothers records – about six of them, from their early, more innocent days – and I had those long-play vinyls memorized. I could recite their routines like “Mom always liked you best!” and “Cream of the ‘sparakeet soup” and “Black is the color of my love’s true hair”. It has not just been years, it has been decades since I’ve heard those songs, but they’re still there in my mind and pop up at unexpected times. Like this one. And my husband is not as delighted by these songs as I am, so I kept this one to myself while we walked and while it went around and around and around in my head.
On another walk recently, friends and I spontaneously took turns starting theme songs to childhood sitcoms. We hadn’t heard them for decades, but they were back instantly:
Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip …
A horse is a horse, of course, of course…
The bluest skies you’ve ever seen are in Seattle…
(Many of you know them, too, don’t you?)
Amazing, isn’t it, how the things we learned as children stick with us? My husband and his brother had never heard of the Smothers Brothers – they grew up on The Bible in Living Sound records and occasionally lapse into bits of conversation such as “Noooooooah! If you can hear me, and I know you can…”
My dad, who hadn’t attended church since his early 20’s, could, in his 60’s, still recite the Bible verses he had learned as a child in Sabbath School.
But back to Herman and Sally, the lobster and the crab. While I don’t have a problem with the silly little song itself, Sabbath was approaching and I really wanted to focus on something else. So I did what I often do when I’m trying to change my thoughts: I considered several alternatives (in this case, songs that fit the moment) and chose one:
Over and over, like a mighty sea,
Comes the love of Jesus, rolling over me!
It’s another catchy one, and more beautiful than ever with the waves rolling in over and over my feet. All weekend long, when my mind defaulted to “Crabs walk sideways and lobsters walk straight”, I chose to change channels. I chose “Over and over, like a mighty sea”. At one point, I started singing it aloud, and Jon joined in with the counter tune of “Over the sea, over the sea, Jesus, Saviour, pilot me…”
I love that song! Learned it as a little kid…
Knowing as we do how powerful those childhood lessons are, WHY WHY WHY do we so often waste them??? WHY do we spend so much time, even in our children’s Sabbath Schools, on empty (in my opinion) songs like… Well, maybe I’d better be careful here and not name any because I might name your favorites.
WHY are we so seldom teaching our children their memory verses anymore? WHY are we teaching them fewer and fewer songs of substance? In our homes, WHY are we watching so much random TV and so many worldly DVD’s and spending SO LITTLE time (if any) in family worship and teaching our children the Bible?
Were your parents intentional about teaching you spiritual songs? Did they lead you in memorizing Bible passages? Did anyone give you any helpful guidance about what to put in your mind along the way? What difference did it make in your life?
What wisdom do you have for today’s parents and children’s ministries leaders on this issue?
I Still sing Jesus Loves Me when I can’t sleep at night, and can recite random texts…which is great. (capital) I don’t know the song about the crab and the lobster; might be fun to learn! Next time I am with my grandkids I think I’ll teach them Jesus Loves Me!…have taught them others! Thanks for the fun story AND the reminder!!
Wirh my grandkids
It’s true that the things children learn stick with them for a long time. My husband and I both recited the fourth commandment by memory the other day. Unlike my upcoming recital repertoire, for example, these verses are not something I constantly review, but they are instantly availble, word for word, many years after I first learned them.
Maybe there are a couple of reasons for that, one of them being that the mind of a child is particularly quick in putting things into the memory. I think it’s also possible that these verses, and Sabbath school songs and the like, are things God is especially interested in helping me remember.
What I love about brains is that it is never too late to put good things into them, no matter how old we get. I played the piano in cradle roll as an adult for a couple of years, and even though it has been several years since that time, the songs I learned in those two years still come back to encourage me during all kinds of trials. And minds, like muscles, get more and more efficient with exercise.
Last Sabbath we attended the 20 year reunion of His Praise and at a transition, the congregation was directed to sing Jesus Loves Me. As the accompanyist began to play, our one year old grandson looked up at his mother and me as he heard the music and a dawn of recognition passed over his face and then he broke into a smile. He is pre-verbal, but it was as if he said, “Oh, cool! They’re singing a song I know–they’re singing MY song!” Then he began to clap, something he does when he is fed his favorite food or something happens that he heartily approves of. =-)