Let me begin my blog with music.  Have you heard Paul McCartney‘s version of the 1935 show tune, “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter” ?

In addition to the pleasures of  his singular voice, instrumentation and phrasing, McCartney infuses the old ballad with gentle humor, something he might not have done in his youth. Here’s how:

The song’s speaker is writing a love letter to himself in the style of his lost beloved.  A line in the original  lyric says, “A lot of kisses at the bottom.”  [XOXOXO]  McCartney has a bit of fun rephrasing that line to lighten the tone. He switches the preposition and the line becomes, “A lot of kisses on the bottom.”  This silly, light innuendo lifts the song and leaves me chuckling.  There’s a little wink between McCartney and his audience.

That wink, that simple pleasure is what I want to share with you here and in future musings.

Listen for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_Z8_HBJcnM&feature=player_embedded