Friday Funnies

This post is for the birds — two of them.

A robin (not a nightingale) sang in Nashua last week while perched atop a light pole at Clocktower Place, our apartment building. It sang lustily for a full 5 minutes.

Robin singing in Nashua, NH

This light pole at the main entrance was the robin's song perch

For some unexplained reason, I thought of the nightingale, which also reportedly sings quite loudly, except that I've never heard one, except online. An online source stated that many people often mistake the sound of a robin singing for a nightingale, obviously they live elsewhere as this bird isn't found naturally in the Americas. 

European Robin

Nightingales breed in Europe, Asia, and northwest Africa and winter in sub-Saharan Africa. They inhabit forests, woodlands with thicke and can also be found in suburban gardens and parks.

This Nashua songster is an American Robin. There's also a much smaller European Robin which has a shorter orange breast patch with white below.

Robins and nightingales have been popularized in songs.

A robin was sung about the 1926 tune When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along  (words and music by Harry Woods) which became the signature tune of singer and actress Lillian Roth, who performed it from the late 1920s to the late 1930s. It was recorded by Al Jolson, Doris Day, Louis Armstrong, Dean Martin, Eydie Gormé, Bing Crosby and others.

Rockin' Robin written by Leon René was recorded by Bobby Day in 1958 and became his biggest hit single, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 with one week at the top of the R&B sales chart. The song is now in the public domain, as the owners never renewed the copyright. (This means that the works are owned by the public and can be freely used by anyone.

Nightingale (Internet source)

A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square was written in 1939 as a romantic ballad with words by English entertainer Eric Maschwitz and music by American composer Manning Sherwin. The title refers to a large square in the Mayfair area of London. 

The record was made popular by Vera Lynn during the WW II. It first charted in December 1940, peaking at No. 2. Long considered a jazz standard, the tune has been recorded by singers including: Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Mel Tormé, Harry Connick Jr. and Rod Stewart.

Nightingale is a song written by Carole King and David Palmer. It first appeared on her top-selling album Wrap Around Joy, released in mid-July 1974, and was released as a single in December 1974. The song, like the album, got off to a slow start, but eventually peaked at No. 9 in the Billboard Hot 100, in March 1975, and spent a week at No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart.

While robins can be heard in a city like Nashua, the chances of hearing a nightingale sing in the city of London are very slim. 

BIG Thanks to everyone for your comments on our 25th Anniversary celebration of dining in local Nashua, NH, restaurants for an entire week — it was delicious fun. 

This is Labor Day weekend considered the last major U.S. summer holiday. The actual holiday is always celebrated on the first Monday in September. It was created to celebrate  the social and economic achievements of American workers.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

All aboard — We're going on a scenic train ride in NH

To answer fellow blogger Pam's question about this excursion, it starts in Meredith, NH, where we board the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad. The 2-hour round trip is along the western shore of Lake Winnipesaukee, the largest lake in the state of NH located in the Lakes Region at the foothills of the White Mountains. 

Lake "Winnie" as locals refer to it, is about 21 miles long, 1 to 9 miles wide, covers 69 square miles and has a maximum depth of 180 feet.