Notes

Some years ago, I don't remember why, I discovered that the number one result for a Google image search on "not funny" was a Family Circus cartoon. I was awestruck. I thought to myself, wow. Is there anything Google doesn't know?

But here it is, four or five years later, and as amazing as modern technology is (ain't it though?), you still can't search for songs.

I mean, if you know the name of the song, or a fragment of the lyrics, of course you can. But you can't search for the music. I'm thinking of a very pretty folk song that a Celtic group I knew back in college used to perform. I can't remember any of the words. It might have involved a lovelorn maiden sitting down by the green something-or-other; but what Celtic folk song doesn't?

It went something like this:

(sh) La la la laa la-la la la laa
La la la. -la la tri-p-let laa
La la la la. -la-la-la la la la,
(sh) La la-la la la la la la. -la-la

Google is no help with this.

There's some musical notation software out there, and I could jot the melody down easily enough. But you can't search on a musical phrase, can you? I mean, you'd think they'd have algorithms that would allow for transposition - I don't know what key it was in - and for some liberties with the time signature.

But no. Here we are, lords of creation, arrogantly surveying the universe from the pinnacle of human accomplishment, and still if I want to find this song I'm reduced to going around humming at people like I'm some kind of Cro-Magnon or something.

It's not funny.