Sing A Song Sunday - Up On the Roof

Today's song comes to us from The Rock 'N' Roll Oldies Car Songbook: Hundreds of Miles of Fun!, compiled by Gary Delfiner, and published by Running Press.
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I am a big fan of 50's and 60's music, especially the ballads. This one moves at a nice steady pace that encourages relaxation through the opportunity to entrain breathing and motor movements to an external beat. In addition, the lyrics talk about finding ways to relax, escaping stress, and mood vectoring.

If you've never heard the song, here is a link that will send you to the Drifters (the original artists) singing the song.

Interestingly, The Drifters is a musical group that has included approximately 60 performers over the years. There is a group performing to this day that is called The Drifters. Check out their website here. They are headquartered in the United Kingdom, so I guess I won't be booking them for a performance any time soon.

 One of the ideas that I had for using this song was to pair it with Petula Clark's song, Downtown and discuss the differences in how we find relaxation. I have used this song with my adolescents successfully, but I've always felt that my own way of relaxing (getting away from others) was largely ignored in this song. Pairing it with Up On the Roof offers the other side of relaxation. We can talk about being around others and finding time to be by ourselves.

 Happy Sunday!



Delfiner, G. (1987). The Rock 'N' Roll Oldies Car Songbook. Running Press: Philadelphia, p. 26-27.

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