Reflections: Pennies From Heaven
“I collect lucky pennies that I find on the ground. I keep them in a Ziploc bag.” Jessica Simpson
Reflections: Pennies From Heaven – 8 lucky pennies found on the ground
Bing Crosby – Pennies From Heaven (1936)
Pennies From Heaven – Bing Crosby via Metrolyrics
A long time ago, a million years BC
The best things in life were absolutely free
But no one appreciated a sky that was always blue
And no one congratulated a moon that was always newSo it was planned that they would vanish now and then
And you must pay before you get them back again
That’s what storms were made for
And you shouldn’t be afraid for… Contd below
Songwriters: Johnny Burke, Arthur Johnston
Published by: Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
This morning, as I was getting ready to enter my car, after doing some early morning grocery shopping, I looked down by my car door and found a bunch of pennies staring right back at me. There were 8 pennies in varying states of shine. I was surprised because I didn’t notice them when I parked my car. Frankly, I saw a single penny as I headed into the store, and since, like Jessica Simpson above, I collect lucky pennies, I was thrilled. The pennies brought back many memories of conversations with friends and family about where these “lucky pennies” come from, why some people are reviled by them, and why others, like me, see them as a blessing from the angels of good fortune. I don’t know how you feel about them but, I truly believe that these lucky pennies are reminders that we should treat all money with respect, especially and even more so, when things are hard for us. I took a few smartphone shots of my eight pennies, collected them, and headed home. What do I do with my lucky pennies? Sometimes, I leave them in my car’s coin holder, and at other times, I collect them in a small change cup at home. They definitely get used … with gratitude. Do you collect lucky pennies?
“Consuming less means throwing away less, while reusing things actually helps to save the planet as well as the pennies.” Sheherazade Goldsmith
Reflections: Pennies From Heaven – 8 lucky pennies found on the ground
Reflections: Pennies From Heaven – 8 lucky pennies found on the ground
Louis Armstrong / Frances Langford – Pennies From Heaven
Every time it rains it rains
Pennies from heaven
Don’t you know each cloud contains
Pennies from heavenYou’ll find your fortune falling all over town
Be sure that your umbrella is upside down
Trade them for a package of sunshine and flowers
If you want the things you love… Contd below
Do you have musical memories connected to money? Collecting lucky pennies and the song Pennies From Heaven hold a few fond childhood memories for me. I’ve collected them as far back as I can remember, and, before you cringe, I always wash my hands after collecting my lucky pennies, and I say a thank you to the universe for them. YES, I do! That said, when I got home and checked my blog and the WP Daily prompts, I was pleasantly surprised to see that today’s assignment was about the songs we listened to at home when we were kids. Essentially, it’s about the music our parents listened to and how we think it influenced our taste. My parents were from a different musical generation, and they had their preferences; they loved the classics, jazz, the blues, and popular African cultural music. I enjoyed much of what they loved and still remember much of their music; however, I think my interests veered a bit to the left of theirs… It comes with the territory; different generations equal different interests.
As I thought about today’s prompt and my lucky money moment, my mind shifted to the popular song “Pennies from Heaven” (available on Google Play). It was one of many, many songs my parents enjoyed listening to at home. My parents listened to African music, music from the UK, the US, and anything that caught their fancy from around the globe. Even though we weren’t living in the US, Pennies From Heaven resonated with my dad, who knew what it meant to struggle from poverty and make huge leaps in life. Listening to it again today, I found that the lyrics spoke to a challenging time in the USA, during the war and the Depression era. It still holds tremendous meaning for anyone going through hard times. My Dad had a wide range of interests in many forms of music, so we heard a lot of different musical styles, genres, and voices at home. I must admit that I paid little attention to some of the lyrics of the songs they shared unless they caught my attention. I remember some songs we heard during my childhood, especially songs with a repeated chorus. When the song popped up in my head, I could only remember a few lines and decided to dig up the rest. I had no idea it was such a powerful song. Do you remember this song? What’s your memory of it?
More Below!
“I would roll up pennies to take the subway to work in Times Square. I was broke, but I was happy.” Jennifer Garner
Reflections: Pennies From Heaven – 8 lucky pennies found on the ground
Pennies From Heaven – Billie Holiday
Pennies From Heaven – Bing Crosby
You must have showers
So when you hear it thunder
Don’t run under a tree
There’ll be pennies from heaven for you and meYou must have showers
So when you hear it thunder
Don’t run under a tree
There’ll be pennies from heaven for you and me
Songwriters: Johnny Burke, Arthur Johnston
Published by: Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
What memories are triggered by music? What’s your memory of this song? Reflecting on my experience this morning, I can say that our memories are very much tied to experiences that elicit strong emotional responses, both good and bad. Music acts as a great buffer in good and bad times, and the songs we remember carry the same degree of poignancy. In a moment of serendipity, I was reminded of this song, of my father’s childhood, and of my struggles and successes just by picking up 8 pennies this morning. It gave me a lot of food for thought and made me wonder what kind of musical memories we would leave/are leaving for our kids. What are your thoughts?
My fellow bloggers were equally creative with their selections. Check out how others interpreted the theme, “Papa Loves Mambo,” below.
This post was inspired by a prompt from WP Daily Post: Weekly Photo Challenge: – Papa Loves Mambo – What sort of music was played in your house when you were growing up? What effect (if any) did it have on your musical tastes?
Positive Motivation Tip: Music builds memories that last a lifetime and can impact our life choices. Enjoy Yours!
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos copyrighted and from my Personal Collection.
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
I think 8 pennies mean you should have 8 lucky days in a row 🙂 What a nice suprise!
I love this song!
I usually don’t pick pennies up, but after reading this, I think I will from now on. I like how you wrote this!
That is so interesting that they were there when you came out! I think music definitely is the way to many memories in my life!
I’ve never collect pennies. But how neat that you found 8 of them all waiting for you.
Pennies from Heaven reminds me of the movie! I am sure Bing’s song was in it! There was also a remake too!
I like the song Pennies from heaven. My granny always said that when you see a penny …an angel left it there to make you smile.
I do pick up pennies but I don’t collect them. I usually give them to my daughter. We recite the little see a penny poem.
What a great reminder to reflect on the daily, thank you!
I also love to collect pennies that I find on the ground. I put them inside a small pouch that I keep in my bed side table. I always believed that these are lucky pennies.
Kindred spirit! 🙂 I love collecting them too and always say thanks for them.
I love my found pennies. My dad collected them, and when he passed, I know he started leaving them for us to find. I keep them all.
Really motivating post. My experience will stay in my memory until my last day. Sometimes our difficult experiences make us strong.
I hear you… Hugs and blessings! <3
I do collect them, but there seem to be fewer these days, perhaps people are more careful.
Perhaps or others beat you to it… I see a lot more in the suburbs than I do in the city. 😆
Ending the culture of wasting and conserving/recycling is definitely something that I am a fan of, I believe we all can live with less and be happy
Pennies from Heaven is a beautifully written piece. I don’t think I’ve heard it before.
This reminds me of a saying my Mom always said, “Find a penny, pick it up, all the day long you’ll have good luck”. My husband always says that if you find a penny on heads it’s good luck. 🙂
This is such a beautiful post! Songs and scents always trigger memories for me 🙂
Likewise… and I can smell my Mom’s flowers now. TY!
What a beautiful sentiment and equally poignant post: it made me question whether we really appreciate the worth of pennies like our generation did before us? We are so obsessed with the process of digitization that we forget the money that brought us into the world.
Thank you Ana. Some countries no longer print pennies which I think is a shame. I love those 99Cent deals. 😆
I agree with you that pennies are a good reminder to treat all things (even those thought of as less important, worth less) with respect. I like that analogy. 🙂
I’m glad… TY! 🙂
We only pick up pennies when they are right side up, but we do collect Pennies from Heaven:)
Very interesting… What is your right side up? Heads? tails?
Where do I begin to list the memories brought on by music? Way too many. On a more practical note – we no longer have pennies here in Canada – phased out. So that in itself is a memory that someone may some day soon put to music! Great post.
Thank you Claudette. I’m glad we still have them here… What would the 99 Cent Stores and Sales do if we phase them out? 🙂
See, we only have dollar stores here and when we have been rounding up or down since they phased out the penny.
Reblogged this on Concierge Librarian.
Thank you for the reblog!
I do not really have any memories related to music and money but this is a great post. I loved the quote “Consuming less means throwing away less, while reusing things actually helps to save the planet as well as the pennies.” Sheherazade Goldsmith
Thank you dear one. There was another great money hit song in the 80s but I liked that song with no stories attached.
Very insightful perspective. Also, I’m loving this song. Billie Holiday will always be a classic.
Right? I love it too…
We always stop to pick up pennies. Even if just one – they are litter, if nothing else.
I actually don’t think I know this song, but I love the premise behind it. And your photos are lovely 🙂
Thank you… the premise is a good one indeed. 🙂
When I see a penny on the ground I pick it up, and I have heard it is lucky to do so, but I can’t in all honesty say anything has happened to me to substantiate that. Nevertheless, every time I do it, I feel something nice might just happen. Best to live in hope eh ?
Righto… best to live in hope. I have had a few lucky moments with them but the feeling is equally important. Whenever I pick them up, they make me feel good and hopeful so that’s good too. 🙂
Alas Canada has stopped making and using pennies but it is still wonderful to come across one. My youngest grandson and I started Penny walking a year ago and while we never found much in the way of the copper coin we found lots of other things including togetherness.
How beautiful…what a great way to connect. I love that you called it Penny Walking too, Chris. 🙂
Pennies From Heaven-I have always loved that song and it is a classic! “see a penny-pick it up-and all that day you’ll have good luck”
True… TY!
When I saw this title, the Pennies From Heaven song came right to my mind
Glad you did. It’s now playing in my head. 🙂
We don’t have pennies in the Philippines, and quite frankly it’s rare to see even the smallest amount of money lying around on the ground haha. People here are fast at snatching it up here that I never seem to see a coin by chance let alone pick up one. I’m not familiar with the song Pennies from Heaven, but I love the photo you took inspired by the WP Daily Post for the week. 🙂
Hahaha! I can relate to that one… 🙂
I too pick up and keep the coins I find. Try not to spend them 🙂 They are special. And yes, there are many songs about money that I know and like – one is Money with Lisa Minelli from the Cabaret movie, another one has a similar title Money, money, money from Abba and so on 🙂 I actually put together a list of songs dedicated to money a while ago on my blog. How’s that for a coincidence?
My mom loves to do the collection, so I gave her all the pennies. Even pennies I got from other countries every time I go to other countries. 😀
I think we never really lose that childlike excitement of finding a coin or two on the street and consider it lucky. Thanks for those classic videos. Billie Holliday’s voice is really a gift from heaven. – Fred
I always pick up a penny when I see it, or rather now my kids do. I instantly thought of that song when I saw the pictures of the pennies.
I LOVE your thoughts on pennies and how we should value each one as a cherished moment. When it comes to money, you often lose site of what’s important, but in this post, you’ve shown very nicely how you should appreciate the money you do have. I love finding pennies on the street and collecting them as though I’m collecting a new story or part of life!
Here in Canada, they have phased out the penny – it’s very rare to find one these days! Makes them all the more valuable, I suppose!
Whenever hear the word penny I remember Mr. Crab from spongebob 🙂 he is obsessed with pennies too. Infact he has one big penny hanging on his wall. I bet you have plenty of pennies in your collection by now. I used to collect paper money for different country and most of them were given by a friend or relatives.
This article made me think about the fact that I dont spend enough time walking to find pennies to pick up.
Pennies from Heaven is such a great song. I really like the quote by Jessica Simpson. We save every penny or coin we come across as well!
I feel so lucky when I find a penny! I will tell you though that I once found a $100 dollar bill!;)
I remembered my boyfriend with this post… He asked God to give him a sign (whatever he prayed for) then the next 5 days, he constantly saw a penny on the ground. Maybe it was the good sign the he asked. 🙂
I have heard that saying before. I like the idea of lucky pennies. I have heard only pick them up if they are heads up. Have you heard that one? I pick up any change I see laying on the ground as well, just to throw into my change jar.
This is the first time I ever heard that song. Very classic! I am not fond of picking lucky coins, though I heard that it brings good luck to those who believe. It’s really rare to find pennies here, and I have a funny experience with a friend about it. My friend found a coin while we were walking on a pavement. He tried hard to pick it, but it turned out, it was intentionally put on that spot with cement to stick the coin in place. It took a little bit of time before we realized that, and people around are staring at us. haha.
I don’t know about other countries but here in the Philippines, couples usually have a theme song that when heard, it reminds them of each other. We don’t really notice but music helps us a lot in our daily lives. It motivates us, it helps us remember things, moment, people, and it allows us to express ourselves, and many more. I can’t imagine life without music.
Well, there’s an adage that pennies or coins are made from heaven and this is really wonderful. The thing that enters my mind right now, a coin is just a symbol of love to mankind.
Such great post!! I also love to collect pennies and always believed that these are lucky pennies.
I always love collecting Pennies from my pocket and when I got one, I always left all of it in a glass, by the way I’ve heard this song before it makes me relax.
We collect them too! I love the song Pennies from Heaven too.
When I was in London and first saw the pennies on road side, my first thought was like why anyone will throw it on the road. So everyday use to see pennies at some or other place and frankly i have picked them too and asked one of my friend who told me that it is for poor people to pick up so that they can buy their food.
My spouse has an obsession with collecting pennies. She has a zip-lock bag with pennies as well as other foreign coins that she finds. My mother always told that it is important to respect all money. I remember it was a time where i would throw pennies out of my car. I stopped doing that and I put them in a jar.
I also have a collection of coins which I inherited from my Uncle. It’s nice to collect them as it could mean a lot in the future and its also an excellent memento of an era.
like you we also collect pennies, any form of money that we found we put them in our coin holder and then turn over them in the bank once we have found enough…
A very great hobby to collect pennies. I used to collect them when I was young. I thought I am rich when I got more! Haha~
Yup, to this day I can’t pass up a penny without picking it up & thinking it’s lucky in some way 😀
Jessica Simpson and I have something in common, I do collect coins that I found on the ground as well. MY husband said that I should not picl it up because I am picking up their bad lucl and I told him that it’s their loss and my gain, lol.
I love what Sheherazade Goldsmith have said , it’s spot on!
Hmmm that made me think what type of music were played at home when I was young. I guess it was the karaoke machine that was playing all day at home back then. And it was songs from the Platters that keep playing because it was my dad’s favorite that time :p
I always point out pennies on the ground to my children for them to pick up. It makes them feel special.
Haven’t got any songs or music linked to pennies. But music does trigger memories. Childhood memories, sad breakup memories, happy memories and many more!
Interesting post thanks for sharing
We always pick up pennies when we see them. I had never heard that song, but I loved it. Thanks.