What songs bring back memories for you?

April 12, 2016

“One song can bring back 1000 memories.”  (Mojo TV) – as seen on the Jack’s Winning Words blog. For those not from this area, Mojo is a local DJ and personality who does radio and TV work in the Detroit area.

I’ve written here a few times about the impact that music has on our lives and how some tunes can invoke strong reactions or memories. There are songs that we associate with happy occasions like weddings and some that are remembered as part of funerals. Manylistening to music couples have “their song”, the special song that they remember from a dance or a date or a special occasion in their lives. Almost anyone who has had an American wedding and reception can remember the hokey pokey song or maybe the Chicken Dance. Many ethic weddings have their own ethic music and dances that are brought to mid by certain tunes.

Jack went on to write that the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, from the Wizard of Oz, is one of his favorites, because of its message of hope. I tried to use Google to find out what the most popular songs are for women and men. The results really are determined by how you phrase the search. The top ten power songs for women are shown in this YouTube video. For men it depended greatly on the search too, with this compilation of the top 10 Karaoke songs that men like to sing along to seeming to be a good answer. In other results women liked the more romantic songs based upon love stories while men choose sports or action themed songs. Who woulda thunk it?

listening to music on phoneIt’s been quite a while since music or catchy songs had much real impact on my life, but I still recall the songs that seemed so important in my youth and a few can still make a feeling weal up inside. These days I’m as likely to be humming or quietly singing a song from our church service as anything. There’s something honest and reassuring about many of the little tunes that we sing during a service that make them stick in your head. Perhaps I’m gravitating towards the funeral song end of the musical spectrum as I get older, but I prefer to think of the church songs that stick in my head now as being songs of hope, too.

Music and songs provide important parts of the overall experience in movies and in life. Try to imagine a movie without the background music to help set the mood. Music and song play a similar role in our lives. What songs stick in your head? What songs bring back fond memories or memories of things that you’d rather forget? What are the songs of your life? If you want to have an all-night discussion with friends, ask the question, “What was listening toi music.pngthe greatest song ever made?” Again, it depends upon how you ask the question in Google. The answer to a question what are the top ten rock songs of all time returns the list at the end of this link.  However, ask what the top 10 country songs of all time are and you get what’s at this link. One could go on and on thorough the various genres. Of course it always and must come down to you – what do your think is the best song ever? Then it is.


We all understand the lyrics sometime…

June 2, 2015

“In good times, we enjoy the music.  In hard times, we understand the lyrics.”  (Unknown), from the Jack’s Winning Words blog.

This is one of those “ain’t that the truth” sayings. Much of the music that we hear and enjoy for the beat or sound listening to musiccontains lyrics that are about hard times – a relationship gone bad, the loss of a loved one or just being down on one’s luck. That seems to be especially true of Country music. It seems that all of the cowboys, farmers, truck drivers, waitresses, wives and girlfriends who’ve been cheated on,  and others referred to in those Country songs had hardscrabble lives (or so they want you to believe).  And who doesn’t relate the religious songs “Rock of Ages” or “Amazing Grace” with some funerals that we’ve attended?

Sometimes I can’t tell what the words are to a song, especially some of the newer songs. If I really want to know I can always Google them and find the lyrics on line somewhere. I vividly remember how apropos the lyrics of Paul McCartney’s song “Yesterday” were to my first college sweetheart breakup. That song captured perfectly the feeling of loss brought on by that event. A little later, in a college bar, with “Hang on man dancingSloopy” blasting in the background, I met the women who was to be my wife for 50 years. I didn’t care about the lyrics, it was just a great song that made everybody feel good (especially those who had been in the bar for a while).

Since then there have been a few songs that just seemed to fit the occasion or moment for us, as we had a life together – mostly they’ve been happy songs, songs about love and devotion; but, there have been a few “Rock of Ages” moments and more than a few “Momma Said There’d Be Days Like This” times. Through it all there were songs that reinforced the reasons for staying together and fighting our way through whatever adversity we faced. Sometimes those just played in the background like elevator music and sometimes they reached a crescendo at just the right time to help. Now, as our lives reach a mellow age, songs like John Legend’s “All of Me” listening toi musichave greater meaning.

What songs have had meaning in your life? Are there sad songs and happy songs that go along with events and milestones for you? Do you know and understand the words to those songs? How do these songs move you when you think about them. Which ones make you smile? Maybe those are th ones to keep in mind. It’s OK to just be moved by the beat, but someday, when your life starts to slow down a bit, you’ll want to understand the lyrics too. The good news is that, by then, you’ll be mature enough to actually do that.

Have a great day and rest of your week and tune into the lyrics on a few songs.