The Ghost-of-Musical-Theater-Days-Past has been visiting me during isolation the past couple of months—whispering hauntingly poignant-to-the-times musical lyrics in my ear. Isolation is spooky. Below are the 19 standouts, just for fun, plus a list of musicals to watch with the family, links included!
1.) YOU GOTTA HAVE HEART!
You’ve gotta have heart
All you really need is heart
When the odds are sayin’ you’ll never win
That’s when the grin should start
You’ve gotta have hope
Mustn’t sit around and mope
Nothin’s half as bad as it may appear
Wait’ll next year and hope
When your luck is battin’ zero
Get your chin up off the floor
Mister you can be a hero
You can open any door, there’s nothin’ to it but to do it
You’ve gotta have heart
Miles ‘n miles n’ miles of heart
2.) CHEER UP, CHARLIE, DO!
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
You get blue like everyone
But me and Grandpa Joe
Can make your troubles go away
Blow away, there they go…
When the days get heavy
Never pitter pat’em
Up and at’em boy
Pretty soon the sky is going to clear up
Charlie,
Cheer up Charlie, do
3.) FOR THERE’S NO BLUE MONDAY IN YOUR SUNDAY CLOTHES!
Put on your Sunday clothes when you feel down and out
Strut down the street and have your picture took
Dressed like a dream your spirits seem to turn about
That Sunday shine is a certain sign
That you feel as fine as you look!
Beneath your parasol, the world is all a smile
That makes you feel brand new down to your toes
Get out your feathers
Your patent leathers
Your beads and buckles and bows
For there’s no blue Monday in your Sunday clothes!
4.) SUNRISE, SUNSET
Sunrise, sunset,
Swiftly fly the years,
One season following another,
Laden with happiness,
And tears
5.) SOMEWHERE THAT’S GREEN!
Far from Skid Row
I dream we’ll go
Somewhere that’s green!
6.) SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW
Someday I’ll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That’s where you’ll find me
Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why, then
Oh, why can’t I?
If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh, why can’t I?
7.) WAITING TO SAIL YOUR WORRIES AWAY
A gentle breeze from Hushabye Mountain
Softly blows over Lullaby bay
It fills the sails of boats that are waiting
Waiting to sail your worries away
It isn’t far to Hushabye Mountain
And your boat waits down by the key
The winds of night, so softly are sighing
Soon they will fly your troubles to sea
8.) I SIMPLY REMEMBER MY FAVORITE THINGS
When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad
9.) CAREFUL THE THINGS YOU SAY, CHILDREN WILL LISTEN
Careful the things you say
Children will listen
Careful the things you do
Children will see
And learn
10.) JUST THAT SPOONFUL OF SUGAR
You’ve got to grind, grind, grind
At that grindstone
Though childhood slips like sand through a sieve
And all too soon they’ve up and grown
And then they’ve flown
And it’s too late for you to give
Just that spoonful of sugar
To help the medicine go down
The medicine go down, the medicine go down.
11.) WHEN REALITY SETS BACK IN
Every so often we long to steal
To the land of what-might-have-been
But that doesn’t soften the ache we feel
When reality sets back in
12.) [QUIT] WAITING FOR LIFE TO BEGIN!
How it must feel to go racing wherever you please
Flying as free as a bird with his tail in the breeze
Even the fish in the sea must be longing to fly
Catching a glimpse of a stranger in white racing by
… I’m here in the field
With my feet on the ground
And my fate in the air
Waiting for life to begin!
… You get me to rise like a fish to the bait
Then tell me to wait
Well, I’m waiting
Waiting for life to begin!
13. NOW IS THE TIME TO SEIZE THE DAY!
Now is the time to seize the day
Stare down the odds and seize the day
Minute by minute, that’s how you win it
We will find a way
But let us seize the day
Courage cannot erase our fear
Courage is when we face our fear.
14.) DAY BY DAY
Day by day
Oh Dear Lord
Three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly
Day by day
15. CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN
Climb every mountain
Ford every stream
Follow every rainbow
Till you find your dream
A dream that will need
All the love you can give
Every day of your life
For as long as you live
16.) BEFORE THE PARADE PASSES BY!
Before the parade passes by
I’ve gotta get some life back into my life
I’m ready to move out in front
I’ve had enough of just passing by life
With the rest of them
With the best of them
I can hold my head up high
For I’ve got a goal again
I’ve got a drive again
I wanna feel my heart coming alive again
Before the parade passes by!
17.) A NEW DAY WILL BEGIN
Memory, all alone in the moonlight.
I can dream of the old days, life was beautiful then.
I remember, the time I knew what happiness was.
Let the memory live again.
Every street lamp seems to beat, a fatalistic warning.
Someone mutters and a street lamp smutters, and soon it will be morning.
Daylight, I must wait for the sunrise,
I must think of a new life, and I mustn’t give in.
When the dawn comes, tonight will be a memory too,
And a new day will begin.
18.) TOMORROW!
Just thinkin’ about
Tomorrow
Clears away the cobwebs,
And the sorrow
‘Til there’s none!
When I’m stuck in a day
That’s gray,
And lonely,
I just stick out my chin
And Grin,
And Say,
Oh!
The sun’ll come out
Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on
‘Til tomorrow
Come what may
Tomorrow! Tomorrow!
I love ya Tomorrow!
You’re always
A day
Away!
19.) SO SAY “GOOD MORNING!”
When we left the movie show the future wasn’t bright
But came the dawn the show goes on
and I don’t want to say good night
So say good morning
“Beat-the-Blues Musicals” for the family! with watch-links
For families with littles under 7:
- Charlotte’s Web (cartoon musical)
- Mary Poppins
- Mary Poppins Returns
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (cartoon musical)
- Annie (the original, of course)
- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
- Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
For families with kids ages 7 and up:
- Enchanted
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
- Pete’s Dragon
- Hello, Dolly!
- Singing in the Rain
- The Sound of Music
- The King and I
- American in Paris
For families with tweens and teens:
- Newsies
- Hairspray
- Little Shop of Horrors
- Into the Woods (Bernadette Peters version. . . of course)
Still in isolation with your kids? Check out our “Sheltering in PEACE” Archive for tips and to-do’s to beat the blues!
Check out our PRINTABLE MOVIE TICKETS!
Thanks for reading!
Love, ~Our Holistic Homeschool~
Ok this post is near and dear to my heart- just a perfect fun list of positive, hopeful words. You could easily think of 19 more, Im sure! This got me listing some in my head- You Are Not Alone Fro͏m ITW, Happiness from You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown! That’s why I love musicals! There are so many uplifting moments!
Oh!! Good man Charlie Brown!!