Mr. Bo Jangles

In all of our stories that date back to the first still, fuzzy memories, there are pleasant and painful. As we grow, we realize that we are confused about the classification of some of these memories. Memories that would appear to be fond bring stirrings of unease. Sometimes a time of strife brings memories of closeness or strength. A large part of growing up is sorting these out. But there are a few memories that are clear in their purpose. Shining like a beacon out of that fog that is our memory. Perhaps it is tracing the pattern on your great grandmother's couch with your finger over and over again while the adults whispered around you. Or the feathery bouquets of leaves drooping down to kiss you from the tree outside her house.
A ringing song of memory for me comes from a rare occasion of being alone with my mother while she had nothing to do. My mother worked hard to make life fun and interesting for us and I am sure that she, too, panicked at times that we were not being stimulated enough. And the idea of her effort is one large concept in my memory. But this occasion was a time when she was being her truest self and perhaps did not even fully realize that I was near.
I was about five years old. I sat next to an orange couch on a shaggy brown carpet. The sunlight sat at the open door. My mother sat on a chair with a music book open in front of her. She held a guitar on her lap. I had heard her sing in a high falsetto many times, accompanied by my father's booming powerhouse of a voice, but this time she sang alone. It was the swishing of a broom on the linoleum. The dusting of pollen on the tiny feet of the bee.
She strummed the guitar and kept her eyes down on the book, she sang "Mr. Bo Jangles" and "Sunshine on my Shoulders". It was a long moment. A forever moment. A sunbeam.


Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine almost always makes me high

If I had a day that I could give you
Id give to you a day just like today
If I had a song that I could sing for you
Id sing a song to make you feel this way

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine almost always makes me high

If I had a tale that I could tell you
Id tell a tale sure to make you smile
If I had a wish that I could wish for you
Id make a wish for sunshine all the while

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine almost always makes me high
Sunshine almost all the time makes me high
Sunshine almost always

Words by john denver, music by john denver, dick kniss and mike taylor