Album Notes

These songs were some of the songs my children grew up with. I hope that you and your family will enjoy them as much as we have. Most of them come from a songbook - Sing Through the Seasons, edited by Marlys Swinger, published by Plough Publishing House, and illustrated with delightful drawings that compliment the innocence of the songs.

Music has been a part of my life since I was born. My mother sang to me when I was a baby. My family immigrated to the USA in 1956. My mother, in particular, missed the way music was a part of the everyday culture in Holland. So she did what she could and sang with my brother, sister, and me at home.

I was 8 years old when we left Holland. Music was one of the things that helped me to make the transition to my new world. One of the first English songs I remember learning was Over the Meadows in music class at Lincoln School in third grade with Miss Lincoln, our music teacher. In fact, most of my memories of that transition time from one language and culture to another involve the songs I learned.

My hope is that this recording will inspire you to sing to and with the children in your life. Singing doesn't have to involve back-up instruments or bands. All you need is your voice and a child to sing along with you.

I now have all the words to the songs on the recording available in PDF format on my website so that when you download the digital CD, you can have the words, too. Enjoy! http://martylayne.com/documents/wordsmp3.pdf