Here's to the Silver Sea

It’s a sign of how long he’s been at the top that my college roommates--in the ‘70’s!--used to warble “Tiny Bubbles” after they had a few beers. It’s the perfect feel-good drinking song, which anyone can sing with its slow glissando of pitch changes and easy lyrics (no word over two syllables). Another signature hit, “Pearly Shells”, has a similarly restricted vocabulary (in “covering the shore” the rushed cov-ring is really two syllables). Don Ho’s music is easy on the ears and easy on the brain.

Tiny Bubbles is one of those songs that loses an ineffable something when sung by another. With Don Ho’s passing yesterday, it will never sound the same.

So here's to the ginger lei
I give to you today
And here's a kiss
That will not fade away

© 2007 Stephen Yuen