A song made me cry this afternoon. . . but it wasn’t a song by Schubert or Schumann. Nor was it by Sondheim or Schwartz.
It was “Conjunction Junction.”
That’s right. “Conjunction Junction, what’s your function. . . “ from Schoolhouse Rock.
And I’m not talking about a lump in my throat and blinking away a tear or two. I mean tears streaming down my cheeks, as though I were watching the final scene from Schindler’s List – or the final moments from Madama Butterfly.
Except that I was watching two elementary schoolboys singing “Hooking up words and phrases and clauses. . . “
I can’t quite put my finger on why a fun little song like this should have tripped my emotional trigger as it did. (By the way, that trigger seems to grow more sensitive by the day. At this rate, I’m going to go through several tons of kleenix tissues before I’m through.)
I’m guessing that some of those tears were the sentimental kind that we shed when we’re suddenly reliving a pleasant little moment from our childhood. I have really fond memories of those Schoolhouse Rock cartoons that were seen every Saturday morning . . . and Conjunction Junction was my very favorite. The song was so incredibly catchy and the lyrics really did help us understand just how conjunctions worked by likening them to boxcars linking up with each other. (What a brilliant concept – worth a thousand class periods with a teacher droning on about conjunctions at the blackboard.) I loved the song then- and love it now. And while it may seem crazy to use a term like ‘masterpiece’ to describe a moment from Saturday morning cartoons, the fact is that an uncommon sort of perfection was achieved in this song, and it was so exciting to encounter it again.
I think at least a couple of my tears were for the sight of seeing and hearing children making music together – something which I will never ever take for granted again. And as I watched my wife conduct them – and out of the corner of my eye watched all of the other teachers at Schulte listen with such obvious enjoyment and pride, it was this heartwarming reminder that all of the teachers I know really care about their students and continue to do so, even in these troubled times when beating up on teachers has become some people’s favorite sport. (All I can say is that they better not do it around me.)
But I think what was most moving was the amazingly fine performance given by the two soloists. . . Jackson and Logan. The choir sang “Conjunction Junction, what’s your function. . .” and the two soloists sang everything else in the song- and completely memorized, to boot. I was absolutely thunderstruck by what these boys managed to do- and found myself fervently hoping that they never ever fall out of love with singing, as too often happens with so many of their peers. If I could plant one thought in these youngsters’ minds – and in the minds of everyone on those risers – it would be Keep Singing. I would almost say that before Don’t Do Drugs or Stay In School. . . because those two words can unlock such joy and meaning.
By the way, you’ll be glad to know that at the evening concert, I played all six songs – including “Conjunction Junction” – without shedding a tear. So maybe there’s hope for me yet!
pictured above: Jackson and Logan accept the enthusiastic applause of the audience after their solos.