My Favourite Things

“Run, children, run for your lives!” Maria leads the children in her favourite game: doorbell pranking.
Image from scene-stealers.com

I once played in the orchestra of my school’s production’s of The Sound of Music with my sister. Having both always loved the movie we were pretty stoked to be playing the music despite the challenges for the violin section. After weeks of rehearsals we had committed to memory every line of the script which, consequently, drove my parents bonkers in the car on the way home. I’m sure there were lots of deep breaths from the front seat each time they heard us cry “Maria! Maria! Where’s Maria!”.

Several years later I was lucky enough to be backpacking through Austria when I landed myself in Salzburg; the place where all the Von Trapp magic started. Practising my danke shoens and auf wiedersheins through the corridors of the backpackers where I was staying, I spied a poster that piqued my interest: The Sound of Music Tour. You ripper, I thought, and straight to the booking counter I went. As it turned out, it ended up being a clapping, singing, cheese-fest, but who doesn’t love a bit of cheese, particularly when you can yodel at the same time (note to self: do not try doing both at the same time, you may just choke). As cringe-worthy as some of the tour guides comments and ideas were, it was a great way to see some of the spectacular countryside Salzburg has to offer. Plus I got a photo of the Von Trapp family house, therefore it was totally worth it.

A particular favourite song of mine from the musical was My Favourite Things. I loved Maria’s optimism that if you think of the things you like, everything will be alright. It’s fair to say there was a lot of fitting in of these so called favourite things to the lyrics. I mean, doorbells, Maria? Really?

So working with Maria’s theory, I thought I might do a bit of conjuring of my favourite things…

Rain on my window and chocolate pudding,

Comedy movies like Rat Race with Gooding,

Sunshine and water and Flattley’s flings,

These are a few of my favourite things…

Long, slow cooking and hours of reading,

Writing and gardening as long as it’s not weeding,

Winter and Summer and Autumn and Spring,

These are a few of my favourite things!

So there you have it. See, Maria? I can do it too! Okay, I’ll admit that second line is almost as dodgy as your doorbells, but you try finding something that rhymes with pudding!

I’m considering sending my revised lyrics to the tour guide from Salzburg; it would be such a shame for them to go unheard, and I can guarantee every Sound of Music song would be heard on the tour bus. Loud and on repeat.