O Superman

My Dear Princess & Dear Fellows,

Lemon is not remotely religious, but many Samoans/Cook Islanders are. She sends her kids to Sunday School and to the occasional church service because she likes the sense of community and structure that it gives them. Even if she thinks it is all bollocks.

Lately, they have been learning devotional songs:

Swing loooooow, sweet cheerio,
Coming for to carry me hoooooooome

"What the eff is a 'cheerio'?" asked Lemon. 

"Those are the words," replied her boys earnestly. "Nana said so."

So Lemon took it up with her mum. "It's CHARIOT," she said.

"It's 'cheerio'," insisted her mum. "It doesn't fit your way." She demontrated:

Swing loooooooow, sweet CHARRY-OTTE,
Comin' for the carry me hooooooome

"See?" she said. "Charry-otte, does not rhyme with 'home'."

"What the eff is a 'charry-otte'?" replied Lemon. "It's charryut. It's a soft T. An implied T."

They turned to Lemon's daughter to settle the dispute. "It's charryut, dumbarses," she muttered before leaving the room.

But the boys and their Nana remain unconvinced and have now convinced their entire choir to sing about a cheerio coming for to take them all home.

"Words are always getting mangled," admitted Lemon. "It's part and parcel of what happens when your parents have English as their second language. For years we had no idea what they were saying when my parents said grace."

It turns out grace is also big in the PI community. And there's a whole thing of trying to impress others by saying it in Samoan or Nueian or Cook Island. Once when it was Lemon's turn to host Sunday brunch, the whole family was at hers and everyone turned to her to say grace.

She was a bit taken aback. "I can't really speak Samoan," she admitted. "I mainly smile and nod. So we did Superman Grace."

This was new to me. "Superman Grace?"

If you would like to join Lemon in Superman Grace, please click this link and go to about 43 seconds in. Then sing along to the tune:

"Thank you Lord! For giving us food!
Thank you Lord! For giving us foo-oood!
Thank you Lord!
Thank you Lord!
For all of this food!
Thank you Lord!"

I should add that you also have to do the actions, punching one fist into the air, then the other with the alternate line, then both at once like you are Christopher Reeve flying over Metropolis.

"The kids LOVE it," said Lemon.

"It's ****ing embarrassing," complained her daughter.

I suppose it is slightly sacrilegious. But on the other hand, as I mentioned at the start, Lemon thinks it is all bollocks anyway.

"I've got a Batman one as well," she added.

S.