Newcomers to Boston will soon learn that nearly every Bostonian knows the song “Charlie on the MTA.” There will be an aha moment when they realise that the card they use to enter the metro system is the Charlie Card. Some may surmise that Charlie is short for Charles, as in the Charles River.
Is it so?
Since I first blogged about this song last July, I have come to embrace it as an important one to include in our repertoire.
I’ve been to Jamaica Plain, or JP as the locals call it. I’ve been to the Roxbury YMCA as well as the Parkway Community YMCA in West Roxbury. But Scully Square Station doesn’t exist anymore. Chelsea is on my list.
In Kingston Trio’s version, one person sings and the others join in the chorus. Ukulele enthusiasts love to all sing and strum together. How can we make it interesting? How about single strums in the verses to give it more air?
My ukulele group, affectionally named the Choco-leles, played it at our first Saturday jam session. We were joined by new graduates of my first adult beginner course and newcomers to our group. If you watch closely, you will see a camera man standing in the far end.
Note: MBTA is proposing a 6.3% fare increase. This might cause people to switch to alternative forms of transportation, adding to road congestion. One councilor proposed making the metro free. It makes sense to encourage people to use public transportation because Boston traffic is notoriously bad.