Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Butterfly (song)

Thinking and writing about my memories of doing the Butterfly (dance), growing up, brought back yet another butterfly-related memory.

When I was a kid, we bought a lot of our music on records made by a company called K-Tel. They would regularly come out with compilation albums ("22 Explosive Hits," "Music Power," "Sound Explosion," "Believe in Music," etc. etc.) that were heavily advertised on television, featuring a generous selection of current hit songs. It was a great way to buy a lot of different songs, cheap (certainly much cheaper than having to purchase 20 different 45s)(and if you don't know what 45s were, look it up, lol -- I'm feeling old enough as it is...!).  

Our local skating rink would play one of those K-Tel albums over & over & over again, and to this day, hearing one of those songs will bring back fond memories of skating around in that cold, crisp tin shed with my friends, playing crack the whip and making up routines. "Daniel" by Elton John, "Don't Pull Your Love" by Hamilton Joe Frank & Reynolds, "Wild Eyes" by the Stampeders, "Beautiful Sunday" by Daniel Boone, "Precious & Few" by Climax, "Bad Side of the Moon" by April Wine. 

And "Butterfly" by Danyel Gerrard. I couldn't remember his name, but I Googled the lyrics (which I could still remember -- "Butterfly... stay a little while with me") and up it popped. It's kind of a schmaltzy song (apparently it was an international hit, and he recorded it in several different languages) -- but now, many years later, as a bereaved parent, some of the lyrics ("Stay a little while with me") resonate very differently... 

You are bright as a night full of moon
Butterfly you have left much too soon
You have found you have wings and now you wish to fly
Please don't go, oh please don't say good bye.
Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free
Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.
In your mind there's someone far away
And you'll miss all the fun if you stay
You believe that love is elsewhere to be found
But you're wrong, it's here, just look around.
Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free
Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.
Look around, look around and you'll see
Better loved than by me you won't be
And if you fly away you break my heart in two
Please don't go -- I'm so in love with you.
Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free
Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.
Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free
Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.
Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free
Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.



(Googling this song, I found references to it being sung by... Donny & Marie Osmond??!!  I was a big Osmonds fan, back in the day, but I don't ever remember them singing this one. You learn something new every day...!) 

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