Steeped in history, jokes, pranks, one-liners … and music. My coming of age era was the late 1950’s-1970’s. Here’s my playlist for April Fools Day. My particular earworm is “Chain of Fools”. What’s yours?
“Why Do Fools Fall In Love?” Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers- 1956 Why do birds sing so gay, Lovers await the break of day. Why do they fall in love?
“Fools Rush In” Frank Sinatra – 1960 Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. And so I come to you, my love, my heart above my head.
“Can’t Help Falling In Love” Elvis – 1961 Wise men say, only fools rush in, But I can’t help falling in love with you. Shall I stay? Would it be a sin? If I can’t help falling in love with you…
“These Foolish Things” Etta James – 1962 A cigarette that bears a lipstick’s traces, An airline ticket to romantic places. And still my heart has wings, These foolish things remind me of you.
“The Fool on the Hill” The Beatles -1967 Day after day, Alone on a hill, The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still. But nobody wants to know him, They can see that he’s just a fool, And he never gives an answer, But the fool on the hill, Sees the sun going down, And the eyes in his head, See the world spinning ’round.
“Chain of Fools” Aretha Franklin -1971 Five long years I thought you were my man, But I found out I’m just a link in your chain. You got me where you want me, I ain’t nothing but your fool. You treated me mean, oh you treated me cruel. Chain, chain, chain, chain of fools.
“Everybody Plays the Fool” The Main Ingredient -1972 Everybody plays the fool, sometime. There’s no exception to the rule, (listen baby); It may be factual, it may be cruel, (I ain’t lying) Everybody plays the fool.
Ethel Lee-Miller blogs regularly about people, the power of words, and the writing life. She retired from professional writing gigs after 30 years of teaching, coaching, editing, and gathering writers to publicly share their work. She is the author of Thinking of Miller Place, and Seedlings, Stories of Relationships. Ethel writes to inspire, to connect with folks, and for the pure joy of it. She enjoys sharing stories at Odyssey Storytelling, Zoom gatherings, and anywhere there’s a mic. Now that she is FV (fully vaccinated) she is looking forward to expanding her world in person and place by place.
