(This was a fun write for writing class. And true, of course. 🙂 - Kim, CWC)
"Lemon tree, very pretty
and the lemon flower is sweet.
but the fruit of the poor lemon
is impossible to eat." – Peter, Paul & Mary
I sing when I clean cabins. Any tune that has a good hook.
My son-in-law recently relayed a trick to stop the annoying repetition of a song phrase.
Evidently forty choruses of The Lemon Tree song were beyond his tolerance level as we shared cleaning duties last fall. He could only vacuum loudly in distraction sooo long while I was busily washed out sticky condiment rings in the refrigerator, incessantly warbling. I couldn't seem to move onto any other song, dangit!
I understood his frustration.
I was feeling more and more sorry for the damn lemon.
Mr. Problem Solver googled for relief. Hence, a solution to the "earworm" issue.
Apparently if you consciously sound out a musical series of notes with a definite ending, then your brain will also end the one jammed in your brain.
I told him that it sounded like a great idea.
Except that I could only think of one song at that moment. (Obviously.)
"What about commercials? Jingles?" he suggested. "Like the Intel tune - 'bum bum bum bum!' Four notes only."
I tried it under my breathe for a few moments.
Nope - still craving tea with a lemon slice.
But! I was able to start thinking of other jingles.
Farmers Insurance “We are farmers . . .”
“Baby back, baby back ribs” from Chili's.
The Coke commercial from the 70's, "I'd like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony . . . " I struggled with remembering all the lyrics.
And then I got into trouble again. Where this one bubbled up from my Generation X memory banks, I’ll never know. "Oh, I’d love to be an Oscar Mayer wiener. That is what I truly wish to be. ‘Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer wiener, everyone would be in love with me." (I seem to recall it being one of the only songs I could play by heart on the flute back in junior high school.)
THAT lasted through a microwave wipe down, a de-staining of two dining chair cushions, a polishing of the kitchen sink with baby oil and the start of mopping the kitchen floor on hands and knees.
"Okay, okay!" I heard muttered from the bathroom as Sir Had-Enough raced through his own floor mopping to escape as soon as possible.
Earworm solution failure.
I have since learned that "Sticky songs prey on the idle, tired and stressed, when defenses are low." [TodayIFoundOut.com]
I am always exhausted in the fall after a long resort season.
I have now promised my beleaguered in-law we could avoid cleaning cabins together after Labor Day.
He has stated there will be no need. He'll be enmeshed in iPod-land.
Good enough.
Now I can stock up in citrus and hot dogs without censure. 🙂
