Sing Books with Emily, the Blog

My daughter’s Kindergarten Teacher got to see “Fiddler on the Roof” in Washington, DC last week and when we were talking about it, the thought occurred  that someone must have illustrated a song from that musical of musicals! 

Sure, enough! 

Sunrise, Sunset
Words by Sheldon Harnick
Music by Jerry Bock
Illustrated by Ian Schoenherr
(This song is from the musical “Fiddler on the Roof”)

This song, a wistful ballad about parents watching their children grow up, from the musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” is so beautiful.  This pictures in Ian Schoenherr’s illustration capture the sentiment of the song’s ultimate lyric, “One season following another, Laden with happiness and tears.”  Pressed by life’s profound ups and downs, nobody seems incredibly happy in these pictures.  The colors, however, are warm and comforting, infused with deep yellow, late afternoon sunlight and evening candle glow. The sunflowers are lovingly rendered and they brighten up the whole book.

This karaoke sing-along track fits the book exactly:
http://www.amazon.com/Sunrise-Karaoke-version-Without-Backgrounds/dp/B002P5JGP8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1272732660&sr=8-2

This is the link to the same karaoke track with background vocals (so you can learn it!)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002P5JGQ2/ref=dm_dp_trk6?ie=UTF8&qid=1272732660&sr=8-2

Sunrise, Sunset
Words by Sheldon Harnick
Music by Jerry Bock
(This song is from the musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” the lyrics reflect the arrangement in the book illustrated by Ian Schoenherr)

Is this the little girl I carried?
Is this the little boy at play?

I don’t remember growing older
When did they?

When did she get to be a beauty?
When did he grow to be so tall?

Wasn’t it yesterday
When they were small?

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears

Now is the little boy a bridegroom
Now is the little girl a bride
Under the canopy I see them
Side by side

Place the gold ring around her finger
Share the sweet wine and break the glass
Soon the full circle will have come to pass

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the days
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears