My parents are both music teachers, and they’ve taught students of all ages. If you were ever one of my parents’ students as a kid, you probably got to sing “The Noble Duke of York.”
The Noble Duke of York
He had ten thousand men
He marched them up the hill
and marched them down again
And when you’re up you’re up
and when you’re down you’re down
but when you’re only halfway up
you’re neither up nor down
But you didn’t just sing it; it was really a squats workout, decades before Crossfit. And the most Crossfit part of all was “and when you’re only halfway up,” when you’d hold it there mid-squat while my mom or dad took their sweet time getting around to finishing out the song. It was great fun, and a great lesson: Being neither up nor down isn’t something you want to do for too long, not literally, not metaphorically. That’s the lesson I took from it, at least. Your experience may vary. But I still live by it. The secondary lesson is that even holding a half squat was way more dignified than that “I’m a Little Teapot” song.
Frazz16 hrs ·
My parents are both music teachers, and they’ve taught students of all ages. If you were ever one of my parents’ students as a kid, you probably got to sing “The Noble Duke of York.”
The Noble Duke of York
He had ten thousand men
He marched them up the hill
and marched them down again
And when you’re up you’re up
and when you’re down you’re down
but when you’re only halfway up
you’re neither up nor down
But you didn’t just sing it; it was really a squats workout, decades before Crossfit. And the most Crossfit part of all was “and when you’re only halfway up,” when you’d hold it there mid-squat while my mom or dad took their sweet time getting around to finishing out the song. It was great fun, and a great lesson: Being neither up nor down isn’t something you want to do for too long, not literally, not metaphorically. That’s the lesson I took from it, at least. Your experience may vary. But I still live by it. The secondary lesson is that even holding a half squat was way more dignified than that “I’m a Little Teapot” song.