There are numerous triggers that get us to think about our life. Some of us remember by smell and some of us remember from hearing stories that help us focus on thinking about our own lives. But one of my favorite is hearing a song.
The members of the Association of Personal Historians this week have naming songs that have remembering in their lyrics and there lots of good songs but I think they have missed the point. It is not the words of a song that help us remember but it is the song, lyric and melody that can bring us right back to what we were doing number of years ago or even decades ago. For you it could be Tommy Dorsey or Frank Sinatra, for me it might be a Beach Boys song that bring me right back to the summers of my youth. I can see myself and my friends riding around in a new mustang with the top down and the stereo blaring as we drove around.
Last night watching PBS an seeing Carole King and James Taylor perform the same songs I saw them preform in the 70′s put me right back to watching the concert at the University of Cincinnati in 1970 when he introduced his piano player and she sang. The next year everyone else knew who Carole King was and I knew I had seen her before anyone knew. Little did I know at the time those in the music business did know who she was. That concert has always held a special place in my heart. I had to chance to seem them perform in Minneapolis and I turned it down since that original concert was so special to me.
Some of us may have favorite songs that bring us back to summers long ago. A song can bring you back to a love affair that you have not thought about for years. Songs have a way of bringing our minds back to time not visited in years or even thought about. You may want to go to i-tunes and look at the play lists for different decades and see what songs sing for you. It can be a fun journey and a great writing opportunity.
Just remember that some of those songs once they enter our minds, you may not be able to get out of your heads for days. Happy remembering…and happy humming along!
When I was sixteen, I read “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” for the first time. During that time, the Beatles released their song “Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da” and it was on the radio almost constantly. Somehow that song has become inextricably linked in my mind with hobbits and dwarves. I can’t hear it even now without thinking of small human-like creatures who set off on wonderful and terrifying adventures!
I know exactly what you mean about Carole King. I played her “Tapestry” album constantly and memorized all those songs!