AROUND the Piano

When I was young New Year's Eve always consisted of a visit from Aunty Dolly and Uncle Ernie and Aunty Ella (later on with her sister Elsie). We would gather round the piano and Mum would play all the favourite oldies with everyone else singing - Dad and Uncle Ernie to the fore. Sometimes there would be other occasions during the year when visitiors like Uncle JPD and Aunty Muriel would sing along to Mum's playing. These are some of the songs I can recall being sung -

Scarlet Ribbons (for her hair)
Underneath the Arches
You made me do it (I didn' wanna do it)
All through the night
Blue Moon
I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter
Pennies from Heaven
The Lambeth Walk
The Sun has Got his Hat On
You must have been a Beautiful baby
Run Rabbit Run
We'll meet again
Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line
Old Man River
Swing Low Sweet Chariot
All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth
There's no business like show business
I've Got A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts
There's a little white house on a little green hill where the red, red roses grow...

I think there were also some Rodgers and Hammerstein and Irving Berlin songs from the various musicals of the 50s and early 60s but which ones I'm not sure. I suspect "The King and I" provided some of them as it was by far Mum's favourite musical.