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You Are My Sunshine

from Sundrops by Harmonica Pocket

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    “An acoustic treat.” — Seattle’s Child Magazine

    “A melodic dream.” — Kids Can Groove

    "You will find yourself listening to The Harmonica Pocket when the kids aren't in the car and loving it.” — Daddy Mojo

    ADDITIONAL INFO: We'd LOVE to personalize CDs with an autograph. After placing your order send an email to theharmonicapocket@gmail.com with the names and ages of intended recipients for each disc. We recommend Sundrops and /or Apple Apple for families with kids.

    CDs without autographs will ship with shrink wrap.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Sundrops via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 12 Harmonica Pocket releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Return To Light, Angels and Mistakes, Sing Your Song, Birds Falling from the Sky, Sundrops, Apple Apple (Single), Apple Apple, America, and 4 more. , and , .

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about

:: THIS SONG'S STORY ::

You Are My Sunshine was written in the 1930s although it's true authorship is somewhat questionable. It may have been written by Jimmie Davis or Charles Mitchell or maybe even Paul Rice of the Rice Brothers Gang. I wasn't around at the time, or if I was I wasn't paying attention to that sort of thing.

This very American song has been covered by numerous artists including Aretha Franklin, Bing Crosby, Mississippi John Hurt and Brian Wilson. Since I was making a sunshine-themed album I thought I would take a turn with my own arrangement of the tune.

On one level this is a sweet song, and to me the storyline is like a child singing to its mother or father. However there were some verses that I just didn't want to sing. Check out this dark, co-dependent verse:

I'll always love you and make you happy
If you will only say the same
But if you leave me to love another
You'll regret it all some day

So as I was working up my arrangement I realized that I was going to need one more verse to balance the song out. I searched and searched and listened to a bunch of different versions, but never found what I was looking for.

So I grabbed my guitar and sat in a tall grassy meadow to write my own.

The version on Sundrops was actually the 2nd version of the song that I recorded. I had a much peppier version with drums, stand up bass, and all kinds of minor chords whizzing past. It was kinda cool, but I felt it was too experimental. I wanted a sweet version so that's what I put out on Sundrops.

lyrics

:: LYRICS ::

You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are grey
You'll never know dear
How much I love you
Please don't take
My sunshine away

The other night dear
As I lay sleeping
I dreamt I held
You in my arms
When I awoke dear
I was mistaken
And I hung
My head and cried

You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are grey
You'll never know dear
How much I love you
Please don't take
My sunshine away

The way you hold me
Just like a flower
Opens for
The honeybee
So wrap me up in
Your leaves and petals
Like love was made
Just for you and for me

You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are grey
You'll never know dear
How much I love you
Please don't take
My sunshine away

credits

from Sundrops, released May 19, 2015
:: TRACK CREDITS ::

Keeth Monta Apgar - Guitars, Bass, Vocals, Harmonica, Percussion

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about

Harmonica Pocket Port Townsend, Washington

Acoustic & chill, The Harmonica Pocket will win you over with laid-back originals and playful re-workings of songs you love.

Recorded on a tiny island in the Pacific Northwest using solar electricity, their albums feature ukuleles and guitars strummed over tight vocal harmonies and delicate fingerplucked melodies. Horn sections swell and tiny musical secrets are woven into the corners of the mix.
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