On the evening of Friday, January 7th, 2020, James and Lily met in James's room to record a video for James's YouTube channel.
"Good evening," piped up James pleasantly as their recording began, "And welcome to James Sirius's Playhouse. Today my favorite sibling Lily Luna Potter and I are each going to sharing our four favorite songs of our early childhood, meaning our favorite songs from when we were little kids. However, instead of an ordinal ranking, both Lily and I are going to present a Mount Rushmore of our favorite songs from our early childhood. I'll go first. My first selection for my Mount Rushmore of my favorite songs from my early childhood is Puff the Magic Dragon."
"You've always been fascinated by dragons, James," said Lily warmly.
"It is sad when Jackie Paper dies," admitted James, "No question that Puff the Magic Dragon is a bittersweet song. However, I've always fantasized about having a dragon for a friend, not just for a pet, but for an actual friend."
"You've been spending too much time with Hagrid, James," cooed Lily teasingly.
"My strong interest in dragons doesn't come close to rivaling Hagrid's dragon obsession," said James matter of factly, "But now it's your turn Lily. What is your first selection."?
"The first song I'll put on my Mount Rushmore of my favorite songs from my early childhood is Mary Had a Little Lamb, " declared Lily.
"Did you know that Mary Had a Little Lamb is actually based on a true story?" James asked Lily, knowing the answer.
"Oh yes, " cried Lily happily, "That's why I'm so fond of the song. It's just so cool to know that yes, this really did happen once. But I also love the ending line, "Why Mary loves the lamb you know, lamb you know, lamb you know. Mary loves the lamb you know the teacher did reply."
"You appreciate the strong pet-owner bond between Mary and the lamb," said James cheerfully.
"Very much so," said Lily in a satisfied voice, "But's what's your second choice?"
"My next entry onto my Mount Rushmore of my favorite songs from my early childhood, " said James with a giggle, "Is the Itsy Bitsy Spider."
"OOH!" smirked Lily, "You always love how much that song creeps Uncle Ron out."
"It always gives me quite the laugh to see Uncle Ron shudder at the lyrics describing a spider moving, " giggled James.
"His reactions to that song are funny," said Lily fondly.
"Indeed, they are, " agreed James, "But it's time for you to make your second choice."
"My next addition to my Mount Rushmore of my favorite songs from my early childhood, " said Lily brightly, "Is Home on the Range. Even as a little girl, I always adored the beautiful imagery that the song Home on the Range provides."
"It's definitely a wonderful song with splendid imagery, " agreed James, "It's a little on the quiet side for my tastes but I understand why you love it."
"The calm and relaxed mood of Home on the Range is part of its appeal for me," said Lily in a businesslike voice, "I wouldn't want every song to be like that, but I do enjoy those types of songs."
"You've always been a little keener on enjoying quiet and relaxed entertainment than I have, Lily," admitted James.
"True, " confirmed Lily, "So, the fates have informed me that it is your turn to choose."
"My third choice for my Mount Rushmore of my favorite songs from my early childhood, " exclaimed James, "Is The Green Grass Grew Around."
"Though it doesn't make my Mount Rushmore of my favorite songs from my early childhood, " acknowledged Lily, "I must admit that The Green Grass Grew Around is an extremely high quality song for children."
"I love the cumulative structure of The Green Grass Grew Around," beamed James, "Singing or listening to The Green Grass All Around gives off a delightful feeling of building. "
"It feels like climbing in some ways, " said Lily thoughtfully, "But The Green Grass Grew All Around is also another song that does an awesome job of painting a picture in the listener's head."
"Absolutely, " agreed James, "You can see things described in the song growing all around in your own head. Well, Lily, what gets the third charm from you?"
"For the third song on my Mount Rushmore of my favorite songs from my early childhood," said Lily softly, "I'm going with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."
"I knew you'd chose that one," said James crisply, "It's another calm, quiet, and relaxed song with top notch imagery. However, there is a very specific reason why you are choosing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."
"Indeed," piped up Lily glowingly, "You see, I'm not a girl who goes into to dreamless sleep much."
"But, " added James, "You've always had many quiet dreams about nature. "
"I have," smiled Lily, "I have tons of dreams about things like beaches, rainbows, clear blue skies on eighty degree days, and yes, night skies. There's a pureness to what happens when the blazing sun is gone and when you can see the moon and stars in the night sky."
"I, on the other hand, " said James brightly, "have had zillions of dreams about riding dragons, flying on Firebolts and hippogriffs, racing in Audis, etc."
"That suits you well, " said Lily happily, "And what makes me happy is that we actually agreed on one song, So, the final entry on both Mount Rushmores of our favorite songs from our early childhoods. The thing is, neither James nor I are quite sure why this is one of our favorites but's it's always been a fun song to us."
"A fair warning," said James clearly, "That we are NOT going to say our usual goodbyes at the end of this video. We're going to sing the song we agreed on and end the video there."
"I think that's brillant," said Lily radiantly.
James and Lily burst into song at the exact same nanosecond.
"The bear went over the mountain, the bear went over the mountain,
The bear went over the mountain, to see what he could see.
And all that he could see, and all that he could see,
Was the other side of the mountain, the other side of the mountain,
The other side of the mountain, was all that he could see.
The bear went over the river, the bear went over the river,
The bear went over the river, to see what he could see.
And all that he could see, and all that he could see,
Was the other side of the river, the other side of the river,
The other side of the river, was all that he could see.
The bear went over the meadow, the bear went over the meadow,
The bear went over the meadow, to see what he could see.
And all that he could see, and all that he could see,
Was the other side of the river, the other side of the meadow,
The other side of the meadow, was all that he could see."
And with that, James and Lily ended their video.
Once the recording stopped, they chest bumped and high fived, having gotten a jolt of energy from the song the had song.
It had been a fun video to make.