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September 25, 2005
The Song Remembers When
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During the summer of 1994 I was already full force into promoting and operating my mobile DJ business. However, every once in a while I still ran into my previous manager, John - a person who was instrumental in getting me out to hundreds of dances for seven years previous. Although we were now competitors in business, we still chatted as friends when we saw each other (it took a few years, but this friendship eventually did die). On this occasion, I was over at John's house picking up some equipment that he needed to have repaired. In the middle of hauling speakers and amplifiers out of his basement and into my van, he stopped and asked if I knew a Tricia Yearwood tune "The Song Remembers When"...? ---- Yes, I vaguely knew that country song, but because it wasn't really a popular tune at dances, I certainly didn't have the lyrics memorized. "Well," he said, "it's about how just hearing a song can bring back memories." "Sure, I'll bet we all experience that," I replied. "Yes, but this song is different". John had a far away look on his face, and I got the feeling that wherever that song usually took him, he was there right then. "This song talks is about remembering a lost love, and imagining what life would be like right now with them instead." "OK..." I could guess where this was leading, but continued to listen. "Ever since I heard that song, and listened to the lyrics, it takes me back to a woman that I was dating before I met my wife. Well, now that my marriage is in turmoil, I'm depressed and wondering what life would have been like if I had stayed with her instead. I heard that song on the radio this morning, and again I've been thinking about it all day." Since I wasn't yet married at that time, I couldn't really sympathize... I know that not all married couples are in wedded bliss, but to have someone talk about their marriage like this in front of me was kind of awkward. I just stood there, waiting for John to ramble on, but he didn't. He just got silent, probably lost in his own daydream. We finished loading the equipment and I took off shortly thereafter. Of course, the first thing I had to do when I got back to my place was listen to Yearwood's song again: After taking every detour It didn't do it for me. I wasn't vaulted back in time like John was. I agreed with him in principle, and certainly a LOT of songs conjure up strong emotions for me, but this wasn't one. Predominandly, the song itself is a connection back to the period of time - you hear the song, and you remember what you were doing when the song came on; simply hearing a new song doesn't usually have the same effect, no matter how well-written it is. Fast forward ten years to the summer of 2004, and suddenly a song struck me in the same way... Lionel Ritchie, of all artists. Yes, that same guy that had crowds of people pseudo-reggae dancing "All Night Long".
Golden days, life was play Yes, there it was again - the same feeling that I got when I listened to Supertramp's "The Logical Song", the one that takes me back to being 9 years old and riding a black bike up and down a small crescent in Prince Albert. Except this time it was from a song that I was just hearing for the first time - so I guess it happens. These days, as ironic as it seems to me, whenever I hear "The Song Remembers When" I am not taken back in time to some lost love of my own. Rather, I'm taken back to 1994, standing by my van on the street in front of John's house, listening to him tell me about his failing marriage. Posted by Hammer at September 25, 2005 11:41 PM |
When I first heard "Just For You" on the radio, it's good that I didn't get into a car accident, because my mind certainly wasn't on the road:If you enjoyed this article, you may want to read more in the My Life is a Stereo category.