Song evokes sweet-dream memories

Earlier this week, I went to pick up my youngest daughter for school. When I entered the house, I heard some music playing from her iPod speaker set.

It was the Grateful Dead's "I Will Take You Home" from the 1989 album "Built to Last."

Hearing late keyboardist Brent Mydland's fatherly lullaby shot me back a few years.

When my kids were younger, I used to sing them to sleep, and "I Will Take You Home" was one of those songs.

So after I drove to work, I thought about the other songs I sang to them.

Here is a short list:

"Carrie Ann," Styx — I used to substitute the name Carrie Ann with my daughters' name.

"Good Night," the Beatles — It's perfect.

"Lullabye (Goodnight My Angel)," Billy Joel — My daughters' never heard it because they would be asleep by the time I got to it.

"Lonely Wind," Kansas — The sweeping chorus was nice when sung quietly in the dark.

"Lullaby," Shawn Mullins — They would sing the chorus with me, even if they were on the verge of dreamland.

"Crystal Ship," the Doors — They would say, "Sing the Jim song, Daddy."

"These Dreams," Heart — Obviously I had to transpose the song to fit in my lower vocal range, but the kids didn't seem to mind.

"Old and Wise," Alan Parson's Project — While this is more fitting for a funeral, the kids liked the melody.

"Daydream," Journey — What can I say? My kids like Journey

"Babe," Styx — I usually started off the list with this song.

Anyway, these are some of the songs I thought about after I heard "I Will Take You Home."

The cool thing for me was the fact that they didn't want to hear Britney Spears.

e-mail: scott@desnews.com