why there are so few Sharons in song

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 18 Aug 07 - 01:32 AM

My Sharon-a by The Knack...

Sharon hasn't really been accepted as a girls name for more than 100 years. It's mostly been confined to a place name (it means 'forest') or a plant name - Rose of Sharon.

Searching through parish records in Dorset, I didn't find a single Sharon until about 1900 and that was a boy, spelt with 2 r's.

LTS

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: johnross
Date: 18 Aug 07 - 12:53 AM

It's much more interesting to look at the way popularity of names changes over time. For lists of American baby names dating back over a hundred years, look at http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/index.html.

Or for a Java tool that displays the way different names become more or less popular in a graph, follow the link from http://www.babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/.

As for Sharon, she peaked in the 1940's (Rank:8), dropping every decade since (1950s: 14, 1960's: 23, 1970s: 63, 1980s: 169, 1990s: 331)

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: freightdawg
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 09:44 PM

I aint sharin' Sharon,
Wis out swearin
She's my very own
You better leave her alone
(you get your head stomped on)

I aint sharin' Sharon
in case your darin'
I'll tell you what you are
You'll be a walkin' scar
All the kings horses and all the kings men
will never put you back together again
I'll do you bodily harm
I'll break your back your nose your neck your tooth your toe and your arm

I aint sharin' Sharon
wis out swearin
She's my very own
You better leave her alone

No I aint sharin Sharon, with you, you, and that means you.
(Jim Stafford)

Freightdawg

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: michaelr
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 07:51 PM

Because the fat bastard doesn't DESERVE a song!

Oh, wait...

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: GUEST,Art Thieme
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 07:07 PM

I have no idea why there are so few Sharons in songs. But I know that there is a Sharon in Connecticut!! It's the home of the Patons and Folk Legacy Records---(and William F. Buckley. ;-)


Art

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 05:41 PM

Maybe there's no chance for Claire in Germany, but what about Clara?

I have friends with a little daughter named Clare. They love Ireland, have been there more than once, and deliberately named her after the Clare in Ireland.

As for why there are no Sharons in song, I think it's because few songs actually contain individual names. Not having them makes the song applicable to more people. After all, if you are a couple named Brad and Jennifer, you can't very well say that a song addressed to Mavis, say, is your song.

The last such song I can recall is Mandy by what's-his-name, although some here claim that Rod Stewart sang a song called "Maggie May." Doesn't sound likely.

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: Leadbelly
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 05:23 PM

Meave, you are completely right. In so far, this thread is some kind of rubbish. But it's quite amusing, is'nt it? Let's go on.
And what's about Jack Campin? Is he still alive?

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: maeve
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 05:17 PM

I don't give any value to the notion that people with certain names are more likely to suffer from any particular disease with any more frequency. Rubbish.

On the song side, There's the "My Friend Sharon" round by Jan Harmon.

maeve

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: Leadbelly
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 05:14 PM

That's the german top ten for 2004:
1. Marie
   2. Sophie
   3. Maria
   4. Anna, Anne
   5. Lea(honie)
   6. Lea(h)
   7. Laura
   8. Lena
   9. Katharina
10. Johanna

Mary, Marie, Maria seemed to be favourites in US and Germany.
Obviously no chance for Claire. I'm so sorry about this result because I do like your name.

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: pdq
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 05:01 PM

Allan Sherman struck a blow for equality with his song "My Zelda". Good show, Sherm'.

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 04:51 PM

Ten most common female names in US:

1. Mary
2. Patricia
3. Linda
4. Barbara
5. Elizabeth
6. Jennifer
7. Maria
9. Susan
9. Margaret
10. Dorothy

From this source.

(I was shocked to find "Heather" was only number 53.)

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: ClaireBear
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 04:38 PM

Ah, that's lovely! Thank you, Leadbelly -- I shall have to look that up.

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: Leadbelly
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 04:33 PM

For Claire:

By the way,again, there's a lovely song about a little girl who's angry with her teddy bear for jumping into hedgerows all the time!Taken from the Walking Oliver CD Paul Austin Kelly/Rap 'N Roll:

Ah, where's he gone now?
Oh, no! Not there!
He's jumped into the hedgerow!
Ooh, my Black Bear

How am I going to fetch him
Out of there?
It's as thorny as a cactus
Oh, my Black Bear

I'll tear my pretty trousers
My new pair
They'll be holy as a Swiss cheese
My Black Bear

I'll skin my lovely elbows
White and fair
A sight I'll be to see then
My Black Bear

I'll have a dozen burdocks
In my hair
Then no one will want to kiss me
My Black Bear

I'll prob'ly die an old maid
A lot you care
Well, I'll leave you in that hedgerow!
Oh, my Black Bear

Ah here, give us your paw then
Mmm, come to Claire!
Or else my bed is empty
Oh, my Black Bear

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: Bernard
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 04:27 PM

I met her on a Monday, and my heart stood still...
Sharon-ron-ron-ron, Sharon-ron-ron!

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: frogprince
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 04:26 PM

It's a long, long way, from Claire to here...

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: ClaireBear
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 04:13 PM

Isn't there a really long anthem in the Sacred Harp called "Rose of Sharon"? I think it's like 12 pages long, and it mentions Sharon simply heaps of times.

(Oh, and Gilbert O'Sullivan wrote a song about Claire, by the way.)

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: pdq
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 04:11 PM

David Bromberg's "Sharon" evolved into one of the greatest pieces of 'rock theatre' ever.

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: Leadbelly
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 04:06 PM

At least, there is a Song for Sharon by Joni Mitchell.

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 04:01 PM

Now, I have to apologize that I was unaware that Essex girls were the butt of humor, er, humour. According to Wikipedia, I gather that they're comparable to dumb blonde jokes.

Is "Nicola" a common name in the UK? It's Nicole in the US - are we THAT different? As for Sharon not being in song, I guess my opinion is that it's just not a musical, poetic name. I'd contend that the use of women's names in song has far more to do with the musicality of the song rather than the name-bearer's susceptibility to sexually transmitted diseases....

I have to say that this thread may not last long in the music section. It has to develop some legitimate music information if it is to continue living here at the top of the Forum Menu.

-Joe, fabled in many songs-

Subject: RE: why there are so few Sharons in song
From: ClaireBear
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 03:45 PM

Oh dear. Should I change my name?

Subject: why so few Sharons in song?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 17 Aug 07 - 03:28 PM

I just came across this, from 1999:

--- quote ---
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/319/7225/1615

The much maligned "Sharon", "Tracey" and "Sandra", who have been the butt of so many Essex girl jokes, are finally vindicated in this week's Christmas issue of the BMJ as researchers find that the real culprits of easy virtue are "Kelly" and "Louise".

In an analysis of 16-24 year old females attending a genitourinary clinic in Southampton, Dr Elizabeth Foley and colleagues found that contrary to popular belief, Sharon and Tracey were not the most popular names of attendees. They actually found that of the 1462 women who attended the clinic the top ten names most frequently seen were:-

1. Sarah
2. Emma
3. Kelly
4. Louise
5. Claire
6. Lisa
7. Rachel
8. Clare
9. Michelle
10. Nicola

The authors are quick to point out that they compared these findings with data from the Office of Populations Censuses and Surveys and they found that most of the top 10 names for women attending the department were seen with the frequency expected by the incidence of the name in the population. Nevertheless, some names were more popular among the study group at the clinic than they were in the general population, including Kelly, Louise and Clare (with no "i").

The much maligned Sharon, Tracey and Sandra, however, were seen half as often as expected and the authors say that as we enter the new millennium these names should make way for the more popular "Hampshire Girls".
--- end quote ---

Now, it seemed to me that these frequencies ought to correlate with the frequency of occurence of names in song. But I can only think of songs or tunes featuring about half of those names, and none for a Kelly or Clare. And 200 years ago would the pox wards have been full of Janets and Nancys?