I Can't Hide

Though it seems like the kind of material that's just out there in the ether, it turns out that kids aren't actually born knowing Beatles songs and sooner or later have to hear them for the first time. The other night I sang a bit of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to Fiona and she immediately perked up.

"What's that?" she asked.
"That's a Beatles song."
"I want to hear the Beatles song."

So I sang the whole thing to her, and then she wanted it again. And again. By the third time through I either forgot part of the song or was sick of singing, because I tried to skip the bridge ("And when I touch you I feel happy inside...") But when I finished, Fiona was displeased:

"No," she said.
"What?"
"I can't hide. I can't hide," she repeated, pointing out the repetition that was clearly her favorite part of the song.

The next morning I dug out the song on CD and played it for her. As soon as it was over, guess what we had to listen to again? And again.

Later that afternoon, as Fiona played in the hallway and her room, we had the stereo on and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" came back around on the CD shuffle. At that exact moment, Andrea wandered in from the office and decided she wanted to watch the TV, so she turned the stereo off.

"Nooooo, the Beatles song!" Fiona shouted, as she ran full speed down the hall towards the stereo.

We decided we had to play the song one final time for the night before the TV could go on (and how often do you have a child begging to keep the TV off?)

So Fiona's hooked, on at least one song (I suppose eventually she'll learn that it's ridiculous to call one song "The Beatles Song"--it's not like this is Dexy's Midnight Runners or something). In a few more years we'll have to get her ready to choose her favorite Beatle. But that's a momentous decision, like learning to talk or read, so we won't push it too fast.