Vanessa,

I find I've been playing this quite a lot since I've written it. Its a fairly simple piece lyrically, and easy to sing. But the jazz sound results from 25 separate chords.

The Bing Crosby piece was part of the White Christmas movie, which also featured that classic title song. I recall the scene where "When I Count My Blessings" was sung. Bing sang it to one of the two performing ladies who had teamed up with he and his partner to put on a major musical on behalf of a general whose hotel ballroom was about to go under.

The lady was fearful for how things would go, and Bing sang her this number. I seem to recall the bit about the curly heads. Both guys married both girls before the end of the piece--so the domestic touch was fitting.

After the first "date on our own" in college, when I took Judi down to Fisherman's Wharf in San Fransisco to Ghirradelli Square for chocolate and to see the street performers and puppet show, I wrote her a piece called, "I'm Hugging My Pillow (And Wishing That It Was You)". I wrote it because that's what I found myself doing. Later I found a group called the Ink Spots had recorded a song by exactly the same title back when my mother was a girl.

Thanks for taking a look.

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