We do a lot of singing, not just kid songs, but also invented songs and plenty of classics. A little while ago, I found myself humming a strange little ditty by Arlo Guthrie while I cleaned the dishes after dinner.

“I don’t want a pickle
Just want to ride on my motorsickle
And I don’t want a tickle
‘Cause I’d rather ride on my motorsickle”

Yes, it’s a strange song. I don’t know why I was humming it. I certainly hadn’t heard it in a long time. For some reason, it just bubbled up. Before I got to the end of the first stanza, of course, I noticed my four year old watching me. So I modified the end of the first stanza slightly and really belted it out.

“…and I don’t want to cry
Just want to ride on my motorcy…cle.”

He laughed.”Motor-sickle?”

I explained the whole rhyming thing. He’s been working on rhyming lately, so I showed him how the tune changed “Motorcycle” so it would rhyme with pickle.

“Oh!” He said, as if I’d just revealed one of the great mysteries of the universe. “Okay! Let me try!”

“I don’t want a pickle
I just want to ride on my… motorboat!”

What? That didn’t rhyme!

“Okay, okay.” He said.

“I don’t want a pickle
I just want to ride on my… motorhat!”

Now you’re just being silly.

“I don’t want a pickle
I just want to ride on my… motormouth!”

Yep, I got it. You’re teasing me. I get it now.

“I don’t want a pickle
I just want to ride on my… motorbanana!”

Help, help. I’m trapped in the pickle song.

“I don’t want a banana
I just want to ride on my… motormouth!”

Okay, that’s enough. I’ve got dishes to do.

He looked at me very seriously, pointed, and said “That’s by Jordan Waterfall.”

What? Who the heck is Jordan Waterfall?

But he’d already gone back to his playing, leaving me standing at the sink. Four year olds can be so strange.