RUNNING TIME: Approximately 34:08
Let's Be Together Today was first released in 1968 before two re-releases over the following two decades. Full of "songs and thoughts on growing for children and their families," this album communicates a message of confidence in true Mister Rogers fashion.
Let's Be Together Today
Mister Rogers' encouragement for children to play with others. While he encourages the idea of playing alone sometimes ("Oh, some days it's good to play alone.") in this song he promotes the idea of interacting with and learning from others.
The Clown in Me
Mister Rogers talks about how it's sometimes difficult for children to communicate with and understand adults. Through this light-hearted song, Mister Rogers encourages pretend and make-believe but also touches on the importance of being oneself at times as well.
Everything Grows Together
This song is in response to a young boy whose toy dog lost and ear in the wash. Mister Rogers uses this cumulative song to teach that people are not just "sewn together or stuck together."
Parents Were Little Once Too
Mister Rogers teaches that adults were once children, too: "It's great for me to remember as I put away my toys, that mothers were all little girls one time and fathers were all little boys."
Alphabet Song
A little different than the traditional A-B-C song we've all heard countless times in our lives. Mister Rogers sings through the alphabet slowly and then speeds up a bit before offering listeners the opportunity to sing on their own.
One and One Are Two
A very simple song about arithmetic that provides a slightly random lesson on a few basic addition problems before counting to ten at the end ("One and one are two, two and two are four, four and four are eight, and eight and two are ten"). Fairly predictable until Mister Rogers throws you a curve with "eight and two are ten."
What Do You Do
This song, performed on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood with some degree of frequency, encourages listeners to deal with their anger in constructive, healthy ways. After one time through the song, Mister Rogers says, "That's important, isn't it? Let's sing it again," before he sings the song a second time.
SIDE 2
Please Don't Think It's Funny
A very important song to help children understand that it's okay to have different feelings: "Please don't think it's funny, when you want the ones you miss. There are lots and lots of people who sometimes feel like this."
I Hope It Will Rain
Mister Rogers pretends he is taking a trip to different places where it is raining. This song teaches how to say "it's raining" in several different languages including French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Taiwanese. Following the song, Mister Rogers talks about how thunderstorms can be scary sometimes. He plays some music that sounds like "rain sounds" and encourages listeners to immitate the thunder.
I'm Taking Care of You
A short, but wonderful song for children sung from the caring perspective of their parents: "Once I was very little too, now I take care of you."
I'm a Man Who Manufactures
The music for this song was written by John Costa who served as the musical director and pianist for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood until his death in 1996. This song, about a man who manufactures chairs, is followed by some time of pretend where Mister Rogers makes the noises of many common tools.
I Like to Be Told
I feel like this song is intended more for parents than it is for children. While validating the feelings of children, Mister Rogers encourages parents to openly communicate with their children.
Peace and Quiet
Mister Rogers sings this very simple song as a bedtime song to help young people slow down, get comfortable, and rest.
Mister Rogers finishes this album by talking about the importance of communication between children and adults before he wraps up with an abbreviated version of Let's Be Together Today.
For more on this version of the Let's Be Together LP, visit the Neighborhood Archive.
No comments:
Post a Comment