Musical Nostalgia
I’m sitting in Starbucks (what else is new?) and they’re playing a song called “I Can’t Get Used to Losing You.” I just Googled to find out who’s performing it– a group called The English Beat. Has a bouncy little ska rhythm. And it’s bringing back memories that put a smile on my face.
All the young folks around me, tapping their toes to the music, have no idea that this is an ancient song. It goes all the way back to my middle school years. I was probably in the 7th grade when Andy Williams originally sang it, and it was not at all bouncy, but rather poignant and lovely. I remember being so captivated by it that I wrote down all the words.
Well, my mother stumbled across the notebook paper where I’d written the lyrics. She showed them to my father. They presented them to me, both awestruck by my writing ability as well as concerned that I penned lines like:
“No one else could take your place; Guess that I am just a hopeless case.”
I assured them this was a song from the radio and I think they were a little disappointed that I wasn’t the writer they’d thought me to be. Glad I was able to make it up to them with a few books later on.
What songs bring back memories when you hear them today?
A few years back I was spending days with my brain echoing with the songs of my youth…I mean bubble gum pop. It was getting very annoying. Every word someone spoke brought back yet another earworm. I mentioned it on a chat room and someone popped up and asked me if I were going through a particularly rough time. I admitted that I was. He told me that when we are going through difficult times the songs of better times serve the same function as comfort food. They sooth us and allow us to forget our troubles for a moment.
Hmm, interesting Christina. I’m going to pay better attention to my ear worms!
You see for years I have been collecting music to be played or better still sung at my funeral. Nothing morbid about it, I am just so Not the hymn kind of gal. I want the music to reflect my ramshackle life where I have rocked and rolled with the rhythm of the rain and my soul which has always found comfort inside lullaby of a lyric.Words matter to me. Words have made me who I am today and who am I not to leave this earth celebrating them. I dither back and forth but one stays true for me.In My Life by the Beatles cause in my life I’ve loved you all. Yep. That’s me in a nutshell. Heart on a sleeve, always singing. God aren’t there places you remember all your life though some have changed? My other farewell song to this life is I Will Sing You Home by Ennis because if the truth be told, I really, really want someone to sing me home. I am bigger than a boom box. I am the girl who always coloured her life outisde the box:. I weep everytime I hear this song because it hits every note my soul has ever wanted to sing. When I leave this earth I want the world to keep on singing.
Two perfect songs for you, Sheree!
Ha, Diane. Mom used to go through my notebook too, but she wasn’t so complimentary about what she found. Story for another time….
She was nosy, wasn’t she Rob? You’ll have to tell me the story.