To hate it when people sing?

[Ilovemybrick2]

I don't mean choirs or humming a happy tune as you do your dishes. I mean randomly breaking out into song.

This might just be my mad family but I'll try and explain

So my mum and her immediate family members do have very nice singing voices and are known in their local area for this.

However they do this thing where they basically start singing and everyone has to stop and listen.

So for example, everyone is at one of their houses for auntie's 60th. Someone will say something that inadvertently reminds someone else of a song (say uncle Pete says the chicken in thyme is lovely, aunt Sally will break out into Wild Mountain Thyme)

And then she'll do this haunting a capella rendition and everyone is expected to stop what they're doing and listen to her, marvelling at her talent or whatever the fuck. Or in my case, wishing she'd be quiet.

Another example - the other day I was giving my mum a lift somewhere with my baby and older child in the back. Baby started fussing. Mum launched into haunting rendition of some fucking song she sings in her choir. Baby fussed more. I had a conversation with older DC regarding baby's rattle, where it was and if DC could reach it. All the time mum is warbling away soulfully. I asked her if she could stop singing a minute so I could hear DC. She then got really ratty with me and snapped "I'm allowed to sing if I want!". But I know that she was pissed off because the car didn't fall silent at the power of her voice, instead we went on a verbal hunt for the fucking rattling dragonfly toy.

Seriously, they do this all the fucking time and it makes me cringe to the point where I want to claw out my eardrums. I feel like a mortified teenager.

AIBU? Am I being petty or is this genuinely annoying as fuck?

I'm not even sure what annoys me about it, I think it's the soulful attitude

I was with my mother at the weekend and she was singing Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport in Oxfam. Loudly. People were staring in horror.

Agree it’s a bit cringe if it is not being done for a laugh. My late MIL had a fabulous singing voice, she did amateur operatics, Gilbert & Sullivan, weddings etc, but she’d never do “turns”. She’d moan at FIL when he occasionally burst into song.

@vampire brilliant

Have you seen the Buffy singing episode? Learn 'they got the mustard stain out' (or however it actually goes) and join in, it will make them explode with rage!!!

Oh lord, I hate people who show off like this. My OH couldn’t find a note in a bucket, yet likes breaking out into random songs - I did have to ask him to stop eventually. He also gave the ‘I’m allowed to sing’ line, I replied I'm allowed to enjoy my own home without it turning into an impromptu full rendition of Oliver! the movie.

As a side note, it’s one of the reasons I don’t like watching Eggheads. Her with the Severus Snape haircut always stars warbling at any given opportunity .

you’d hate our house OP, we’re always bursting out into songs.

DH’s family is a bit like that. When I first encountered it at a family party I was at them all bursting into song or pulling out instruments they’d brought with them to play. It’s just completely alien to me, my family all have singing voices akin to yowling cats and anyone trying to get up and do a turn would be roundly told to shut up. I don’t find it too cringey with them because they’re people I rarely see, but if my mum did it all the time I’d just want to curl up and die.

@vampirethriller - I’ve literally this moment realised its not ‘Tommy Kangaroo, down Sport!’

You will have to break into a louder song yourself. Fight fire with fire.

@vampirekiller I don't know whether to sympathise or be jealous, I don't know if kangaroo songs are better or worse than songs about death and lost love

My sister and I do this to annoy the (older) children. 😂😂 The small kids still think we are great singers and make requests but the older ones know better. It's hilarious.

Difference is I couldn't sing anything soulfully if my life depended on it so there is no smugness to my warbling, just a love for music and a passion for irritating the teenagers.

OMG this has me cracking up and nodding along in agreement 😂🤣

I come from a family of singers (DM used to make us do "items" at church festivals) and we got to be renowned for them but I was quite a shy child so it was a bit cringy.

I remember when young my sis and mum would sing together in the kitchen whilst preparing dinner and my sis would sing the normal part and my mum the lower alto part and I would come down and ask "who is groaning" as the alto was so grumbly and to my ear out of tune and my mum would look hurt and say it was her doing contralto (or something) and take umbrage at my heathen approach to her wonderful singing.

I've also been to baby singing classes (think Jo Jingles) and there's always one mum who starts to add some random wobbly bits to the normal songs to spice them up while looking out of the corner of her eye at the rest of us to see if we are suitably impressed or doing harmonies to The Wheels on the Bus or similar.

I'm also conjuring up an image of The Royale Family where Joe starts to sing a warbly song in the middle of a party at the Royale's house and it goes on for ever or so it seems but they all stop to listen then clap at the end indulgently.

I do feel for you OP but I feel you may just have to join in or go mad 🤣

Total cringe! My mother does this, so I sympathise. I walk out of the room or start a conversation with someone these days. Hasn't stopped her but I no longer want to commit matricide (over the singing anyway).

I'm actually surprised we haven't ended up. On AIBU.

"AIBU to expect two grown women not to launch into Alanis Morrisette's entire back catalogue in the queue at IKEA"

Also just wanted to add that my dad is a professional singer, and is very good, and he doesn't do this. Says it would be like bringing paperwork home from the office. So it isn't all performance type people, it's just the attention seeking ones.

I would absolutely hate that, it’s bad enough that when at functions when one particular sil insists on one of her youngsters getting the mike and singing some out of tune daft children’s song or the other getting hers to Irish dance. Then we’re all supposed to applaud. This was at functions where my DH and I were paying professional singers to entertain. That noise that sounded like bags of marbles was actually people rolling their eyes.

It sounds hilarious when you write it OP. Christmas must be a joy with all the potential excuses to sing. 😆

I hate this, I actually hate it. Very few things make me rage but this is one of them.

Its normally a symptom of "Look-at-me-sis" and is found primarily in those who have had some singing lessons, been in a choir, done some AM DRAM or have been to drama school.

There is no cure OP, no cure.

I was classical trained during school (got me a A GCSE in music it did and that was back in the days when there was no star system!!) , I also did am dram but never burst into song like most of them did.

But by god my sis in law is in a choir and my niece is in drama school and don't we know it. We rarely meet up but when we do it's normally for a family event and by gawd you can feel the change in the air JUST before they burst into something.

Its like a static burst of "cringe" that sweeps over us. Normally my brother and I will lock eyes and scream through our eyes.

And then they will just burst into song. We never ask them to!! We have learnt not to!!

Sometimes its a song I know (say a swanky oldy one in latin) and I just want to die as I know they are butchering the words or going stegatto when it should be legato.. which makes it even worse.

I don't mind the odd "burst into a pop tune with relevance" which my partner and I will do in private at the telly for lols but the feather preening singing makes my palms itch.

Its like when any singer on the telly start singing when being interviewed (I'm looking at you Lesley Garrett) I want to hunt them down and make them drink hot sauce so they never do it again.

OP, get a Kazoo. Get a Kazoo in EVERY room of the house. In fact get 2 or 3 per room so one is always in reach.

When they start warbling, play along with the Kazoo. Say you want to feel part of the magical experience but the only way you get reach pure joy is via the Kazoo. Start crying if they say you can't and then play mournful songs on said Kazoo whilst making eye contact with them.

At least they're happy

Wow! Your family sound like a cast of quirky fictional characters! Hilarious to read about or watch, but yes, probably awkward and annoying in real life. It does sound like show-off behaviour, especially when it's implied that everyone should stop what they're doing and "appreciate" the random singing.

Come to think of it, we do have occasional singing at family gatherings. It's the same four singing together, two or three songs at a time. I do find even that somewhat embarrassing and awkward, but at least it's not as bad as spontaneous bursting into song! (Sorry, I can just picture the captive audience pausing as the song begins out of nowhere... A pained expression here and there, maybe a soundless sigh or two...)

Lol! I was all ready to say "how can you hate singing?!" But yes, as you describe it sounds really annoying! My uncle used to do this at family gatherings. Get his guitar out and interrupt all conversations to "treat" us to a performance, as in "no talking, all eyes on me" everyone found it ridiculously annoying. Yanbu

A kazoo is a top idea. And when they complain say you are just accompany them. Although I don't want my niece to know about this strategy...

Its like a static burst of "cringe" that sweeps over us. Normally my brother and I will lock eyes and scream through our eyes

😂 This thread is amazing.

I think it's the earnestness that is the problem rather than the singing. I once had a boss who was once in a very earnest not well known band. She used to put her own songs on and make the office listen to them instead of the radio. It was David Brent-esque in awkwardness levels.

We do this in my family (me, mum and step dad) . My brother hates it and my husband thinks we are bonkers. I don't know why we do it!

I don't know anyone like this

I would be horrified. And I love people singing but that's not the point!!!