HEARD IT IN A LOVE SONG — CAN’T BE WRONG — WHAT’S YOURS?

WPCNR UNSOLVED MYSTERIES, By John F. Bailey. February 14, 2024:

Valentines Day is today. In order to get in the mood for love,  dispel the myths and  fiction notions about love, I have compiled a list of songs written over the years from ragtime to swing to the rock and roll era. They are the soundtrack of love, how it feels, how it hurts, how it saves you and nurtures your spirit, and lingers forever.

Those who have never been in love yet,  can seek out these songs as guidelines to judge whether they have a real love going, the real turtle soup and not merely the mock. (Thank you, Cole Porter)

Those of you not still in love or who miss it, can play these songs for memories and faith in the future that another love will come along because you miss love every day. I have probably left off yours. Feel free to write me and suggest other songs I have left out.

The best  observers — authorities on what love feels like are the songwriters–poets with melody. They write the feelings their minds and bodies and yes, their heart, as experienced. And put them in songs that grab you by heart and go to your head.

“down and down they go like a leaf that’s caught in the tide. That Old Black Magic you weave so well”

The first 100 Love Songs of All Time titles and their  “signature lyrics”

  1. You Belong to Me

 (Fly the Ocean in a Silver Plane)

  1. You Made Me Love You

(I didn’t Want to Do it)

  1. Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby

(I was your Pretty, You were My Baby)

  1. In the Still of the Night

(I Remember)

  1. Sleepwalk  
  2. Blueberry Hill (I found my thrill…though we’re apart)

(I Found My Thrill)

  1. The Great Pretender

(Pretending You’re Still Around)

  1. Autumn Leaves

(That’s When I Miss You Most of All)

  1. Walkin After Midnight (Along the highway hopin’ I’d get a glance at you)
  2. My Heart Stood Still

 (Though not a single word was spoken, I could tell you knew
That unfelt clasp of hands told me so well that you knew
I never lived at all until the thrill of that moment When my heart stood still.)

  1. You Go to My Head

 (With a smile that makes my temperature rise
Like a summer with a thousand Julys You intoxicate my soul with your eyes)

  1. Red River Valley

(They Say You Are Going.We will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile…)

  1. I want to be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart

 (I Want to Rope and Ride Across the Great Divide)

  1. Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darlin’

(Wait Along, Wait Along)

  1. Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes

(Far Over the Sea)

  1. Kiss and Say Goodbye

 (I wanna remember you just like this…)

  1. Begin the Beguine

(It Brings Back a Night of Tropical Splendor)

  1. Come Dance With Me

(Come on Cutes, Put on Your Dancing Boots and Dance with Me)

  1. Dancing in the Dark

(We Can Face the Music Together)

  1. Love Is Strange

(Without it you’re in awful fix. Once you’ve had it you never want to quit)

  1. Under the Boardwalk

 (down by the sea)

  1. One Night With You

( Is all I’m Hoping for…Always Lived in the Twilight.. ain’t never done no wrong)

  1. Treat Me Nice

(Don’t Kiss Me Once, Kiss Me Twice)

  1. Night and Day

(You are the one)

 

  1. I Get a Kick Out of You

 (I Suddenly Turn and See…Your Fabulous Face)

  1. One for My Baby and One More for the Road

(Set em up, Joe)

  1. You’re the Top

(You’re the Coliseum, You’re the Louvre Museum)

  1. Too Close for Comfort

 (Now)

  1. Cheek to Cheek

(Nothing Thrills Me Half as Much as Dancing Cheek to Cheek)

  1. Nothing in Common

(It’s a Phenomenon!)

  1. Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off
  2. Same Old Song and Dance
  3. Something’s Gotta Give
  4. What’s New?

 (You haven’t changed a bit Lovely as ever, I must admit)

  1. You Took Advantage of Me
  2. I’ve Got You Under My Skin

(Deep in the Heart of Me)

  1. That Old Feeling

 (I felt a thrill when you caught my eye, my heart stood still)

  1. Let the Good Times Roll

(Feel so good now you’re home)

  1. You’ve Got What it Takes

( to set my soul on fire)

  1. You Keep Coming Back Like a Song

(The sweet used-to-be That was once you and me

Keeps coming back like an old melody)

  1. Always

(I’ll be loving you always)

  1. My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own

(I’ve Tried forgetting you..)

  1. Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool

(Everybody’s somebody’s plaything)

  1. Donna

(Where can you be?)

  1. The Carnival Is Over

(I will love you til I die)

  1. Just Walkin’ in the Rain

 (All because my heart can’t forget)

  1. She Wears Red Feathers in a Hula Hula Skirt
  2. The Last Dance

 (Save me the first dance in your dreams)

  1. Hey There

(You with the Stars in Your Eyes)

  1. Everybody Loves a Lover

(I’m a Lover, Everybody Loves Me)

  1. He’s So Fine

(Sooner or later he’s gonna me mine, I hope it’s not later)

  1. Rock and Roll Waltz

(Trying to Waltz to a Rock and Roll Song)

  1. Hey Little Girl in the High School Sweater

 (Carry your books and hold your arm?)

  1. All of Me

(Why Not Take?)

  1. Racing with the Moon

 (Till I Overtake the Moon and You)

  1. So Fine

(My Baby is so Fine, Sends Those Chills Up and Down My Spine)

  1. Chances Are

(Your chances are very Good)

  1. Misty

(Too Much in Love)

  1. Thanks for the Memory

( Of faults that you forgave, rainbows on a wave…Thank you so Much)

  1. A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody

(A pretty girl is like a melody That haunts you night and day
Just like the strain Of a haunting refrain)

  1. Black Coffee

 (Love’s a Hand-Me-Down Brew)

  1. Canadian Sunset

( When I saw you there on that ski trail)

  1. I Almost Lost My Mind

 (When I Lost my Baby)

  1. Tennessee Waltz

(I was dancing with my darlin’…)

65.   Laura

(The laugh that floats on a summer night) 

  1. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

 (Seen a lot But now I’m like sweet seventeen a lot
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I)

  1. Brown Eyed Girl

 (Where did we go?)

  1. You Send Me

(Honest you do)

  1. Oh Julie

 (Someday Julie, I’ll Be the Apple of Your Eye)

  1. Slip Away

( I Need You So)

  1. I’ll Be Seeing You

(In  All the Familiar Places)

  1. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore

(Without You)

  1. Diana

(Stay with me, Diana)

  1. Love Me Tender

(All my Dreams Fulfilled)

  1. Fine Brown Frame

(Because I’m crazy ’bout, mad about, wild about Your fine brown frame)

  1. Met Him on Sunday

(He didn’t come Monday. He showed up Saturday, and I said Bye Bye Baby)

  1. I think I’m Into Something Good

 (Met a New Girl in the Neighborhood)

  1. Some Enchanted Evening

 (You may see a Stranger Across a Crowded Room,,you’ll see her again and again)

  1. I Could Have Danced All Night

(And still have danced Some More)

  1. On the Street Where You Live

(Oh, the Towering Feeling)

  1. At Last My Love Has Come Along

(You set my soul on fire, and  I’ve Really Had my Fun)

82. I Only Have Eyes for You

(Though millions of people walk by)

83 Just for a Thrill (You’re still the only one Cause you made my heart stand still)

84.  Stardust (Of love’s sweet refrain)

85.Smoke Gets In Your Eyes    (When a lovely flame dies)

86. Blues In the Night       

(A two-face, a worrisome thing
Who’ll leave ya to sing the blues in the night)

87. Love Letters In the Sand   (You laughed when I cried when the tide  would take our Love Letters from the Sand)

88. Born To Be With You (By your Side satisfied)

89. I Can’t Stop Loving You  (I’ve made up my mind to Live in Memory)

90. First Name Initial

(It Makes it Official, you’re my special guy)

91. When A Man Loves A Woman (Can’t Keep His Mind on Nothin’ Else)

92. Ci Ci Rider 

(The Moon Is Shining Bright, If I Could Just Walk with You Everything would Be All right)

93. Eddie My Love 

(Don’t Make Me Wait Too Long Ong Ong)

94 .Wonderland By Night  (Stars Hung Suspended)

95. In the Mood   (Don’t keep my chestnuts waiting when I’m in the Mood)

96. Moonlight Serenade

97.  Young Blood (I Can’t Get You off of My Mind)

98. Memories Are made of This   (The memories you gave me)

99.Once Upon A Time (A Girl with Moonlight in Her Eyes Told Me     She Loved  Me So, But that Was  Once Upon a Time very Long Ago)

100. VAYA CON DIOS   (My Love, May God Be With You  til we meet again)

 

Always.

 (Stills from The Big Sleep  (1946) of Bogart and Bacall, I never get tired of watching that movie)

May you and your Valentine always feel That Way.

 

 

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REMOTE WORK FROM HOME DAY 32 WPCNR DEGREES SNOWING WIND FROM NW 12 MPH AT 8:30 A.M.

 

SHOVELING WARNING: THE SNOWFALL AS OF 8:30 A.M. 5 INCHES, BUT IT IS A HEAVY WET SNOW, HARD TO SHOVEL. BEWARE OF OVERDOING IT. 

Today
Snow, mainly before 1pm. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 35. Wind chill values between 20 and 25. Northwest wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 5 to 9 inches possible.
Tonight
Mostly clear, with a low around 26. Wind chill values between 15 and 20. West wind 8 to 13 mph.

 

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THE WHITE NIGHT BEGINS.

SNOWY NIGHT: Blowing snow started at 2:30 A.M. Tuesday morning and by  4 A.M. above  It was accumulating on yards, cars and roofs. 

SILENT PINES OBSERVE THE BLOWY DRIFTING SNOW, RECALLING HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW’S POEM.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST AS OF 4:30 A.M. 31 DEGREES, SNOW. WIND NORTH AT 4.

Tuesday
Snow, mainly before 1pm. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 35. Wind chill values between 20 and 25. Northeast wind 11 to 15 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 5 to 9 inches possible.
Tuesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 26. Wind chill values between 15 and 20. West wind 8 to 13 mph.
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ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND HIS LEGACY TO AMERICAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Abraham Lincoln 1860. By Matthew Brady
Editor’s Note: Stephen R. Rolandi, a frequent contributor to WPCNR.com and White Plains Week published this article in a recent issue of American Society for Public Administration. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization. Republished here with permission of the author. (c) 2021, Stephen R. Rolandi By Stephen R. Rolandi This being the month of February, many of us celebrate Ground Hog Day (February 2nd), hoping that spring will soon arrive, as well as Chinese (Lunar) New Year, the Year of the Ox, on February 12th; and of course, Valentine’s Day on February 14th. If you are like me and historically inclined, you might also mark February 12th as the birthday of our 16th American President, Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865). I have had a long and continuous admiration for our 16th President. I have travelled to Springfield, Illinois to see Lincoln’s law office and home. Many years ago, my late parents gave me a half dollar coin issued by the United States Mint in 1918 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Illinois’ admission to the Union. This year marks the 212th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, and I believe it is a fitting time not only to examine his career as the nation’s Chief Executive during the bloodiest war in American history, but also his contributions to public service and impact on American public administration. Lincoln was not popular in his time; indeed, he was elected in 1860 in a four way race with only 39% of the popular vote. He won re-election in 1864 with the Confederate states that had left the Union in 1861 not participating in that election; and with the support of Union soldiers who voted in overwhelming numbers for him. In addition to preserving the Federal Union during the Civil War, as well as his issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln had many accomplishments:
  • During his administration, the Federal departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs were begun, in an effort to assist farmers (the United States in the mid-19th century was to a large extent, an agricultural nation), as well as the nation’s veterans starting to return from the Civil War;
  • Recognizing the importance of education (Lincoln, you recall, had only about one year of formal education, and was largely self-taught and worked as an apprentice before becoming an attorney), the Morrill-Land Grant Act was signed into law to permit the establishment of land grant colleges to teach engineering, military tactics, science and other subjects;
  • Lincoln recognized that the increasing level of government services would require different funding streams, and during his administration, the Revenue Act of 1862 became law which also established the Office of the Commission of Internal Revenue within the Treasury Department—in time this would lead to the establishment of the progressive income tax system in the United States;
  • The first steps towards a national banking system and currency in the United States saw fruition with the passage of the National Banking Act of 1863;
  • He recognized the need to reform the Federal government civil service, and took the first steps in that direction with the 1863 evaluation of the French customs service which recommended competitive examinations. This led ultimately in 1883 with the passage of the Pendleton Act and establishment of the U.S. Civil Service Commission—today known as the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
Taken together, along with other policy initiatives, many historians consider Lincoln’s Presidency to be the foundation of the modern administrative state. Indeed, it was Leonard D. White who said that, “Administrative history was primarily the record of war and military government.” We can also see that many domestic and economic sector accomplishments occurred as an outgrowth of the war effort. Lincoln became a paradigm for future chief executives. Perhaps for me his most important contribution was preserving the principles of constitutional government during a period of one of the gravest crises in American history. Lincoln was cognizant of relating his actions to the spirit and meaning of the Constitution. There are many, many works about Abraham Lincoln’s life, career and Presidency. More books about some aspect of him continue to be published. Some of my favorite books about the career and Presidency of Abraham Lincoln that I would recommend are the following:
  • Lewis E. Lehrman, “Lincoln at Peoria: The Turning Point” (2008)
  • Daniel Farber, “Lincoln’s Constitution” (2003)
  • Harold Holzer, “Lincoln As I Knew Him” (1999)
  • Ted Widmer, “Lincoln On the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington” (2020)
  • Doris Kearns Goodwin, “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” (2005)
If I had to recommend a single book on Lincoln, it would probably be Doris Kearn’s work on Lincoln, how he won the Republican party Presidential nomination against more prominent contenders, and how he led his cabinet—consisting nearly of all the Presidential contenders he faced in 1860—during the Civil War. I should mention that Kearn’s work reportedly influenced Barack Obama when he assumed the Presidency in 2009. Lincoln’s experience as a war time chief executive gives us many perspectives, not only on the role of the executive in decision-making as well as leadership, but also for his lasting contributions towards the institution of the American Presidency and constitutional government. He is, in my opinion, more relevant than ever today as we as a nation face the perfect storm of crises—the Covid-19 pandemic, a weakened national economy and a distinct threat to our democratic institutions and the rule of law. Happy Birthday, Mr. President!
Author: Stephen R. Rolandi “retired” in 2015 after serving with the State and City of New York. He holds BA and MPA degrees from New York University, and studied law at Brooklyn Law School. He teaches public finance and management as an Adjunct Professor of Public Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY) and Pace University. Professor Rolandi is a Trustee of NECoPA; President-emeritus of ASPA’s New York Metropolitan Chapter and was Senior National Council Representative. He has also served on many other association boards in New York City, Westchester County (New York State) and Washington, DC. You can reach him at: [email protected] or [email protected] or at 914.536.5942.
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