John Doan: Music

Perhaps because adult life was so harsh one hundred years ago, people often remembered their childhood years with a sense of loss. The lyrics to Old Oaken Bucket reminisce "how dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood.....the old oaken bucket, that hung in the well." I guess when people got running water in the house this image became nostalgic. The next theme is from the opening tune of Schumann's piano collection Scenes From Childhood entitled About Strange Lands and People. Then I used The Cradle Song, also known as Brahms Lullaby, to suggest earliest memories. Overall, I used these melodies, and a few more, to capture the scenes of my own childhood - playing wiffle ball in the backyard, eagerly browsing the toy section of Century Market, drinking a root beer at Al's Drugstore, and quiet moments playing alone.