🎵 I Just Can’t Wait Till May 3rd, Till May 3rd, Till May 3rd 🎵

happiness, humor, lessons learned, music, Teaching and Education 2 Minutes

Date: May 3, 1967

Location: St. Augustine Catholic Church, Bridgeport, PA

Occasion: the Sacrament of Confirmation

Featuring: Fourth Grade students, including nine-year old Jimmy Borden

It used to be a big day for kids in Catholic School back in the 1960s – the day you were going to get confirmed. These days, with the dwindling population of kids going to Catholic School, I’m not sure what it’s like.

And for whatever reason, I was completely stoked for my confirmation.

So stoked that I made up my own song: “I Just Can’t Wait Till May 3rd”, sung to the tune of “The More We Get Together, Together, Together”. If you’re not familiar with that song, here is a little clip:

The only difference in the two songs, besides the obvious word changes, are that my song just kept repeating the refrain over and over: “I Just Can’t Wait Till May 3rd, Till May 3rd, Till May 3rd. I Just Can’t Wait Till May 3rd, Till May 3rd, Till May 3rd. 

I’m sure my parents and sisters couldn’t wait for the day to come either; they had to be sick of listening to me going through the house singing the song over and over.

As big a day as it was in my life, I only remember one thing from the actual ceremony.

We had been preparing for the big day for weeks, being drilled by our teachers with how to answer the bishop if he called on us with a question or two. As part of that prep, we were told to address the bishop as “Your Excellency”.

Well sure enough the bishop asked a question, and we all raised our hand (as we had been told to do), and he called on one of the girls in our class. As it turned out, the girl simply could not pronounce the word “Excellency”. She kept trying over and over, and after about the tenth time, the bishop finally said it was OK, and told her to just give the answer. I think that may be the only question the bishop asked that day, which was a great relief to the rest of us.

I often think back to what may have been.

What if I had kept up with my songwriting ability – could I have been a future James Taylor, Kris Kristofferson, or John Prine?

The world will never know.

But for that one day, I had the number one hit in the country…

 

Published by Jim Borden

A 60-something guy trying to figure out the world, and his place in it. Happily married for 40-plus years, three wonderful sons. Accounting teacher, fitness enthusiast, blogger, reader.

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32 thoughts on “🎵 I Just Can’t Wait Till May 3rd, Till May 3rd, Till May 3rd 🎵”

  1. I’ll bet your confirmation left you swollen with pride and joy. Did you go around after the ceremony, bragging to everyone that you were confirmed? And what the heck does it mean to be confirmed?

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  2. I remember that day(and the pretty) white dress and veil although I didn’t go around singing a little ditty and yes it’s good to dream about what could have been just don’t dwell on it too long…Thank you for reviving the memory, Jim 🙂 Have a lovely week 🙂 x

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    1. There are no specific dates, that just happened to be when our class’s confirmation was scheduled. At least back then, I think it used to be sometime during the month of May…

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  5. Another thing we share in common, professor—confirmation. Unlike you, I remember nothing from that day.

    Maybe you should ask your students to address you as “Your Excellency.”

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  6. i remember my confirmation too, but not with nearly the same level of passion or excitement. what was your confirmation name? mine was mary, apparently my parents thought to go big or go home with the name i guess. very impressed with your song, perhaps you could guest sing at others’ confirmations? the demand could be overwhelming, be prepared.

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    1. I did not get a new middle name; they just confirmed my existing middle name of Patrick. I think I got cheated. and I like your idea, that might be a good retirement gig… 🙂

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    1. there is no specific date for confirmation, that just happened to be the day scheduled for our class to be confirmed. And yes, the world is in a better place now that I no longer sing that song… 🙂

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  9. Ah, reminiscent of my one hit, that very well may have been released the same year: “Slow down, slow down, you’re going too fast.” Funny how we remember stuff like this across a half a century.

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    1. I have no idea why I was so excited about my confirmation – maybe I was thinking there might be some gifts afterward? 🙂

      and it’s a catchy tune, right?!

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  11. I remember my confirmation but my first communion was my big day!! I was the youngest and after my first communion I didn’t have to stay in the pew and watch everyone else go to communion! I must say though, I expected communion to be more exciting for the taste buds… like pop rocks or something!!! 😊

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