To find people singing at family gatherings and expecting an admiring audience hideously embarrassing?

[Snoot]

I think it's attention seeking and makes me want to claw my own ears and eyes out! It's not the kind of thing my own family would do in a million years. I expect to have to watch children perform but not grown adults! As an in-law I cannot comment openly but OMG I dread it so much I'd avoid the situation if at all possible.

"Oh,Danny booooooy, the pipes, the pipes are caaaaaaling........"

This thread reminds me of my dearly departed grandad who loved getting his karoke (sp?) machine out at all family gatherings.
His rendition of 'Like a virgin' would have us all in stitches.

My grandad loves to recite very long poems this one I remember well

As children we would have to sit and listen, no talking or fidgeting and lots of stern glares from mum if we let out a sigh.

These days. Love it when grandad can be bothered to stop grumbling in his chair long enough to try and remember his poems

Oh god i'm blushing and cringing just reading this thread. I absolutely hate it. Even if they are a culture where it's completely normal to sing at gatherings. I feel almost panicky and embarrassed for everyone.

I have spent massive chunks of weddings and funerals in the toilets. I have yet to hear anyone with a half decent voice which doesn't totally dominate everything, and you can't carry on a conversation as it's so bloody loud (and even if you could that would be rude - but it's not rude to break into song right next to someones ear while they are in the middle of having a conversation apparently). At best it's bone crushingly boring, at worst it's actually painful.

Wow, so this is really a thing then?? I have lived in many countries on different continents, and so have friends from lots of cultures. And yet random singing at a gathering has not happened to me even once. Except maybe camp fires. Thank goodness!!

"Generally, parties that involve singing or playing instruments are the best sort"

This!

Love singing at family do's.

But then a lot of people in my family sing very well. :-) not me sadly

I'm Irish and I hate it. A big singalong with fun songs everyone knows is OK. The drunken auntie getting up to do a funny song, fine. The maudlin stuff, the soloist giving it everything - cringe.

At my PIL's anniversary party, one of their friends got up and sang She Moves Through The Fair (or whatever it's called). cringe. She wasn't that good, the song goes on forever.

I frankly never know where to look or what expression should be on my face so I end up giggling at the earnestness of the singer, who never realises they aren't that good or that they were just asked out politeness because everyone knows they love their moment in the spotlight.

Let the properly talented people sing in ceremonies and concerts and being the casual, funny stuff out for the pub I say.

(Yes, I'm a grumpy auld biddy)

Same luxemburgerli only ever happened around a camp fire

Oh and I can absolutely imagine the difficulty of selecting the right facial expression !

stokes yes it's the taking it seriously that would give me the giggles!

With you on the not knowing how I'm supposed to look.

Trouble at my in-laws is that everyone kind of sits looking ill at ease with each other - no banter, no elbows on the table, definitely no swearing (not even crap, or piss)

On my birthday I had to sit at the top of the table with balloons on my chair and apparently the tradition is to stand on the chair while everyone sings to you. That is just major mortification for me.

Once you get past 18 my family just chuck a card at you and say "here you go buggerlugs" and that's the end of it!

Oh God piano,I just broke into a cold sweat reading that.

"At best it's bone crushingly boring, at worst it's actually painful." Well said, MrsKoala! I'm mortified for you piano I would fein illness to get out of that one. It shows a lack of empathy on the singer's/singers' part to either not notice your squirming or to carry on regardless.

I'm Irish and yep we all sing at weddings, funerals, family parties. You have to do it in my family and everyone has a party piece. Mine is 'delaneys gone back on the wine' everyone joins in at the chorus to all the songs so its not to terrifying really!

It's usually at the end of the evening an hour before all the taxis turn up. You'll get called on to sing. My extended family is around 60 so you get hit about once every 4 family dos.

I've never really considered it embarrassing, but its always been this way, plus everyone's hammered so....yeah.

It's very common in Scotland and Wales too though isn't it?

Oh my, I don't mind a good singalong when in boozed up to the max but I just cannot deal with those that take it too seriously, I cringe so hard I could vomit out my own anus!

Crrrrringe!

So alcohol is key? Is that our conclusion? Off to buy vodka Cheers MNers!

Twirly I am so going to do that

Big parties round here it's the law that you being your own bottle and instrument.

But to those who say it's okay if people can sing/play/dance etc. I still don't agree. For me a party is about communication, lots of chatting, people making eye contact and being interested in each others news. So you come away thinking 'i didn't know that about x' or 'what an interesting point y made about the recent elections' or 'blimey z is quitting her job to go traveling, how brave' not well i listened to the same songs sang by the same people while i just stood there. If i wanted to listen to someone sing i'd play a cd or go to a concert.

For me it is having one person on send and everyone else on receive. It's not really communication.

We have a family tradition of singing bohemian rhapsody en masse at 'event's' I'm sorry.

In our family we have a number of people who'll sing folk songs, rude songs and pop songs with the barest invitation. I love it personally! At my sister's wedding, we didn't have a band in the evening...everyone brought instruments and we had a sing song!

booze is always the answer. how do you keep a straight face?

as a teenager I had a boy friend whose rather large middke aged mother would belly dance at any gathering.

she did it at his 18th and it was excruciatingly embarrassing.

also had a friend whose sister would sing amazing grace at any venue, she sang well but I wanted to throw stuff at her.

According to the Profanisaurus, the correct verb for this sort of behaviour is 'to Geldof'. After the pop singer of that name who insisted on performing at Live Aid despite the fact that he wasn't very good and his band were thoroughly out of fashion and he is a woman-hating arse anyway

I'm with you all the way OP.

I live in a country where sketches and singalongs are part and parcel of a bash.

I want to hide behind a sofa or even claw my own eyes out.

Excrutiating beyond belief.

( I was even involved in a dance prepared for the birthday boy's delectation, i could have died a thousand times)

(holds hand in an ironic manner)

Proper LOL at 'to Geldof'.

We hate that cunt chez nous so that is from now on the term we will adopt for poncey showboating.