My Gen X Playlist: Our House – Madness

I was recently reading Homemaking in the Dunes’ blog about her vegetable garden and small orchard. She spent the day canning four pounds of apricots, ten pounds of peaches and three pounds of tomatoes. They looked fresh and delicious and I was thinking how fortunate her family was being able to self-sustain themselves in part from their land. This turned my thoughts to our garden growing up. My parents grew vegetables for fresh produce and also because it was economical for our family of six. They later planted a number of fruit trees in the back yard as well. There were two fruit from the garden that I never particularly cared for as a child – persimmons and figs. I tried them fresh from our trees and they just weren’t for me. It wasn’t until thirty years later when my little nephew picked a fresh fig and ate it in front of me that I decided to give it another try. He plucked another ripe fig from a low branch and handed it to me with a smile – and it was delicious. Sometime later I gave persimmons a second chance and loved those as well. Each year, both trees yield a few hundred fruit and I’m trying to make up for thirty years of lost time. Someday, I’d like to have a backyard filled with fruit trees to enjoy every season.

This got me thinking about other things dismissed since childhood that may warrant a second chance. It’s possible deep rooted preferences formed since childhood may have a different flavor in this season of life. Who knows, my taste buds may have evolved. I’ve decided to wipe the slate clean and be open to anything and everything once again. What else have I been missing out on these past few decades? All this learned from my little nephew handing me a fig from the garden one sunny afternoon. What a wonderful gift. It seems I can still discover ways to grow from our childhood house, even now since moving away. The essence of things and places sometimes never change. Such is our house.

I first started listening to Madness when I was in high school. They were the first ska band I discovered and was beginning to like their sound. In 1982, they released the quirky song Our House. I really thought the horn section was unique and cool, later to learn horns were a hallmark of all ska bands. This song was so different from their other hits. It was catchy and fun.

This song describes a packed house filled with fond memories and bustling with activity. There were many like it in England (where Madness is from), especially in the ’80s when a tough economy forced many young people to live with their parents. The song is filled with joyful nostalgia, but at the same time, the singer knows he should probably move out. We hear this voice of reason in the line “something tells you that you’ve got to move away from it.”

– SongFacts

I’ve long since moved out of my parent’s house thirty five years ago. Although I don’t live there now, I’ll always fondly refer to it as “our house”. It will always be home to me – fruit trees and all.

–

For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

Father wears his Sunday best
Mother's tired she needs a rest
The kids are playing up downstairs
Sister's sighing in her sleep
Brother's got a date to keep
He can't hang around

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our

Our house it has a crowd
There's always something happening
And it's usually quite loud
Our mum she's so house-proud
Nothing ever slows her down
And a mess is not allowed

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our

Our house, in the middle of our street
(Something tells you)
(That you've got to get away from it)
Our house, in the middle of our

Father gets up late for work
Mother has to iron his shirt
Then she sends the kids to school
Sees them off with a small kiss
She's the one they're going to miss
In lots of ways

[Instrumental Interlude]

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our

I remember way back then when
Everything was true and when
We would have such a very good time
Such a fine time
Such a happy time
And I remember how we'd play
Simply waste the day away
Then we'd say
Nothing would come between us
Two dreamers

Father wears his Sunday best
Mother's tired she needs a rest
The kids are playing up downstairs
Sister's sighing in her sleep
Brother's got a date to keep
He can't hang around

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our
Our house, was our castle and our keep
Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, that was where we used to sleep
Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our street