Musical Decorations

"Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid. " Frank Zappa


I was tagged by ZombieSlayer about music - songs that remind me of a person, place, or specific event in life.

Ever since I was a young girl, I have loved listening to music. My grandparents and parents had the most influence on my musical taste. From my mother and grandparents, I got a taste of country music, but I didn't appreciate it until I was older. I remember my brother taking me to a country bar when I was in my early twenties and showing me how to country dance - swing, two step, ten step, waltz. We went to this old barn of a place at the State Line in Idaho called "Kelly's", which had a live band, headed of course, by Kelly. Some of my favorite country songs I heard out there while kicking up my heels - like "Fishin in the Dark" by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, "Devil Went Down to Georgia" by Charlie Daniels, and that one song by Hank Williams Jr. about why people drink and roll smoke. Going to Kelly's was always fun and I rarely sat out a dance - I can't help but smile when I hear those old songs. My favorite country singer who is linked to someone I still think about a lot is Waylon Jennings. Whenever I hear "Luchenbach, Texas", I think of my grandfather and the times I spent with him out on the farm. They were, quite possibly, the best and most simple years of my life.

Another song that has special meaning for me is "Close to You" by the Carpenters. This is because H sings this to me sporadically while spinning me around in his arms and holding me close. It's such an old fashioned song and I never had particular thoughts about it before H started singing it to me. Now it's sort of "our song".

I have a huge section on my Nano devoted to "The Oldies", which I should clarify is anything from the 60's and 70's. Anytime I want to relax, I listen to this list because it reminds me of summers out at the lake. My biggest care in the world was whether or not it would be cloudy or who had to help with the dinner dishes. The cabin was a bustling place on weekends in the summer - there weren't too many times when the place was not crowded with mostly family, but also family friends. Grandpa always pulled us water-skiiing behind the boat, we took long walks on the dirt roads in the evening and collected wildflowers, and stayed up late with my cousins talking. There was no decent TV reception, so the radio was always going and oldies were always playing - Three Dog Night, Otis Redding, Diana Ross and the Supremes, just to name a few. Oldies made up the soundtrack for my lazy days at the lake.

Lately, anything about peace and war and the general state of the world today are songs I've listened to and really connected with, like "What's Goin On?" by Marvin Gaye and "Imagine" by John Lennon. I know the songs were written for very different times, but were the times so different compared to now?