Song of The Day - Day 257

Today's song is...


Where Do They Make Balloons?


It was edged out of my Top 10 in my last Top 25 list re-write but it still makes Top 15. I adore this song. Words are not going to be able to accurately describe how much I love this song. (Spoiler alert: my next planned tattoo is based on this song if that is any indication.) There is something about this song that captures beauty and happiness and the pure joy of a small child with a bright, shiny balloon.

I couldn't honestly say if my fondness for Danny plays into my love of this song, or if it was the other way around, and my love of this song played into my fondness for Danny. The two are rather linked together. But for an admitted non-singer, I have always been especially drawn to his vocals on this track, more so even than either of his others. Here they really shine. My only regret is that he no longer plays acoustic guitar when he does it at shows as it did the first couple of times I saw it. Because that was a beautiful thing.

I have a bootleg of a show from 2003 with one of the very earliest performances of this song, where Danny tells this fantastic story about this song coming to him in a dream. The best line of which is this one. "I know what you guys are thinking. You're thinking, "This guy's like Paul McCartney. He's dreaming songs." Only Paul McCartney dreamed songs like Yesterday and all I dreamed was the chorus of this song." Don't knock it, Danny. It's a good question. Where DO they make balloons? Incidentally, I also have a performance from earlier the same day where he forgets the lyrics and subs in "I forgot the words and I'm not wearing any pants" to the tune of the song. That one always makes me giggle.

And finally, one of my very favorite lyrics (and I can attest to this as a I saw a turkey doing the moonwalk on the side of the road on the way back from Toronto. )

"Turkeys aren't from Turkey. They can't fly but they can dance."