My Life in Songs
Lately, I have been listening to a lot of music. More than I had in the past 10 years or so. I used to listen to music all the time, then kids came along and my favorite songs were set aside to make room for lullabies and kinder music. I didn’t realize how much I missed the power of music in my life and how many songs have touched me and moved me in so many different ways throughout my life. Recently, I have been allowing some of my favorite songs to speak for me when getting to know new friends, so I thought it would be fun to share with you all some of my favorite songs that have taken on the status of personal anthems during certain periods of my life.
So here it is…my life in songs.
One of the very first songs that I remember listening to over and over again as a young child was Behind Blue Eyes by The Who. My older sister’s boyfriend who was a teenager when I was 8 or 9 years old would sing this song to me upon my request but he would change the words to “Behind Green Eyes” and it would send me into a prepubescent swoon.
Being 6 years younger than my oldest sister, I always looked up to her and wanted to be just like her. She was so cool and edgy and loved all the classic rock tunes that were on the radio. She had an amazing record collection and I loved to sit and admire the artwork on the album covers. I remember very early on falling in love with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and really relating to the lyrics in The Waiting. This song as remained a favorite of mine for my entire life.
Jump ahead to my middle school years and Survivor was topping the charts. I absolutely loved and still love the lyrics to High on You. One of my oldest friends and I continue to message each other whenever we hear this song on the radio.
Entering into my teen years, those years when girls become romantically interested in boys and some even start daydreaming about their wedding day. While I never was one to plan out a wedding in my head (I could barely plan a wedding when I was actually getting married), I always wanted to wear red and play the song Lady in Red by Chris DeBurgh on the day that I married.
I have been married twice. This was not my wedding song either time. Leather and Lace by Stevie Nicks and Don Henley was my wedding song. It speaks the story of my husband and me…I was so broken and he swept me off my feet on his Harley Davidson all decked out in leather.
But before we get to that…let me go to the college years. Oh, the challenging college years. A time when I really started relating to songs and song lyrics, finding them powerful, emotional, moving, heartbreaking, and healing. I remember my ex caught me flirting with another boy after a fraternity party and he kept sending me this song…Hey Jealousy by The Gin Blossoms. To this day, it affects me.
Seven years later, same ex, married and about to split up. This was his song of choice…Matchbox 20’s If You’re Gone. Again, to this day, this song has an incredibly emotional effect on me.
And then Matchbox 20 became a theme in my life. Telling my story, each step of the break up process followed by my dissent into the dark depths of mental illness.
Rest Stop by Matchbox 20 perfectly voices how I was feeling when I walked out the door for the very last time.
Now…the darkness. My theme song, my anthem, for so long was Unwell by Matchbox 20.
Intertwining with Matchbox 20 through this period of my life and continuing straight into the present day has been the most amazing female artist I have ever had the pleasure of listening to and the honor of meeting in person. If you have not heard of Beth Hart, I encourage you to listen to some of her music. I promise she will move you in some way.
I was first introduced to the music of Beth Hart when I heard her tune L.A. Song playing late one night on my college radio station.
I was immediately obsessed and have been following this woman’s career since that lonely night over 20 years ago. She has told my story in so many ways. My struggles, my defeats, my mistakes, my successes, my rise out of darkness, my road to happiness. She is just two years older than me and it seems as if her journey has run parallel to mine. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet her about 9 years ago at a concert that I paid $15 to attend. I am not one to get star struck or nervous around anyone and I found myself a puddle of tears as I tried to express to her how important her music has been to me over the years and how much she has helped me in my healing process. As I stammered these words like a blubbering fool, she took my face in her hands and looked me straight in the eyes through her own tears that were now flowing abundantly down her face and said, “You have no idea how that heals me. Thank you.” That was a moment to remember, for sure.
So my journey, my life, as told by the words and music of Beth Hart…
Is That Too Much To Ask
The song that has always reminded me of my own mother…Mama.
The song I listen to when I need to be spiritually uplifted…maybe better than the original by The Allman Brothers…Soul Shine.
And this one…Life is Calling.
And this one…Who can’t relate to this one? Weight of the World.
And the anthem of my life in a nutshell…Like You (And Everyone Else).
And three random favorite songs…
In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel.
Vienna by Billy Joel.
Fight Song by Rachel Platten.
My kids also each have their own theme song, assigned to them by me at birth!
I used to sing this song to my oldest son, Archer James, while I was rocking him to sleep every single night…Sweet Baby James by James Taylor, but I changed the words to “Sweet Archer James”.
And when I was pregnant with my youngest, Ralph Joseph (who is named after my father, Ralph Frank), the movie Wreck It Ralph came out and the theme song, When Can I See You Again? by Owl City, quickly became Ralphie’s theme song.
Both kids still insist that I play these songs for them whenever we go on road trips.
There are so many more songs out there that hit emotional soft spots for me, old and new songs alike. I am a huge country music fan and could probably list 100 songs that touch me from that genre alone. I also love old folk rock and classic rock. And being a child born in 1974, the eighties hair bands were definitely my jam. And I can’t forget some of my favorite female artists like Pink, Madonna, Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morissette, Tori Amos, Miley Cyrus (yes, I love that woman!), Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani…the list goes on. While I lean towards certain musical genres more than others, I don’t discount any genre at all. In fact, I attended a rap festival recently, which is a genre of music that doesn’t usually appeal to me, and found an entirely new appreciation for that incredible art form. And now I am considering Bad Bunny Tickets to further grow my appreciation of this musical genre.
Does music effect you in the same way? Do you like to explore various genres of music? I would love to hear some of your favorite songs, so please share them with me in the comments…because people who show you new music are, indeed, important.
Feeling the music on the edge,
Shelbee
Linking up with these Fabulous Link Ups.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.
25 Comments
Tamar
Music really can be so transformative!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I agree completely, Tamar. Thanks so much for reading.
xoxo
Shelbee
Patrick Weseman
Very nice. I think I might have been at that Tom Petty concert that the video was shot at. Geez, I have many songs that I listen to and it makes me think on things. Every Monday (shameless self-promotion), I do a Music Monday blog with some people and sometimes it is a theme but I always try to include songs within that theme that mean something to me. I still haven’t found a theme or something to put “Dear God” by Midge Ure or “Sun City” by Artists United Against Apartheid on it yet-LOL
Thanks for sharing your songs.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Patrick, I am going to check out those songs right now and your Music Monday posts! I love that idea for a weekly post. So great. And I am a little jealous that you saw Tom Petty in concert. Thanks for stopping by, my friend. I am so glad you enjoyed this post.
xoxo
Shelbee
Laura || Walking in Memphis in High Heels
I love the Matchbox 20 songs and the Lady in Red song! I love this style of post, I’m so music oriented and love all songs.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Laura, thanks so much! I am so glad that you enjoyed the post. It was kind of out of the ordinary for me, but it sure was fun to put together.
xoxo
Shelbee
Aimee
Love this post! I love and need music, and I too went through a time where I wasnt listening to it as much or I kind of tuned it out. Thank goodness music is back. I am thankful my kids love it and I am making time for myself more when it comes to “my” type of music. Any time I go on road trips by myself, I have certain CD’s w playlists that I always tend to listen to. I know all of the words, so it helps when I am getting tired to stay awakw, and it literally takes me back to when I first really heard them. Music is so therapeutic! PS: Thank you thank you for introducing me to Beth Hart. I feel a concert road trip coming on sooner than later!!!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I knew you were going to love this post, Aimee! I am so glad that you love Beth Hart like I do. I love sharing that mutual love with you. I totally was jamming out to some tunes this weekend while traveling. Actually, I was singing so loud on the way to Pennsylvania that I had a sore throat by the time I arrived. So funny! And yes, definitely a road trip soon!
xoxo
Shelbee
Nancy
Wonderfull! I could not listen to music for the last six years or so, because it depressed me even more. But since half a year I can! It makes me happy again! What a story songs can tell right. Not by their lyrics, but what it reminds me of! I could tell my life story by songs too!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Nancy, thanks so much for sharing your experience with music. That just made me sad to read though that music made you so depressed that you could not listen to it. But I am glad that you have rediscovered music and songs that make you feel happy again!
xoxo
Shelbee
Lise
Yes, yes and yes! My life has always revolved around music, from a very young age. Certain songs always take me back to a specific time. And some songs have even recurred at different important events, quite organically and unplanned! Music = life to me. Needless to say I am now married to a very talented musician so my home is always filled with music. 🙂 Lise
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Lise, I love this comment so much! And I love that as a music lover, you fell in love with a musician! Music really does speak a universal language to everyone in one way or another. Thank you so much for sharing!
xoxo
Shelbee
Marilee Gramith
Meeting Beth Hart and being able to share what was in your heart and how her music and personna had touched your soul was an incredible gift for both of you!!
When you were born, I was beginning my teaching career! There are many years of different “era driven experiences” between us and yet the regrets, heartfelt pain and deep piercing emotion of finding your way through- is a connection to humanity that knows us all.
Thank you for sharing and risking so much of your own path through the music you love. “Everyone else” might understand who you are now…
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Jude, thank you so much for this comment! I really believe that people can connect so deeply based on similar experiences regardless of our ages. After all, age is just number. I have dear friends who are 15 years younger than me and 30 years older than me…and just like you said…our journeys are similar and these experiences tend to lead us to one another and fabulous friendships are formed. I am so blessed to be able to develop a friendship with you! Hugs to you.
xoxo
Shelbee
Michele Morin
I saw a T-shirt recently that said “80% of my brain is song lyrics,” and I think that’s my story as well.
What would we do without our music?
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I love it, Michele! I don’t know what we would do without music! It seems to connect us all on so many levels. Thanks so much for stopping by and have a fantastic day!
xoxo
Shelbee
Mary
I too am a music lover and have to have the house filled with music all day. When I was pregnant with my second I’d listen to the Heart Shaped World album by Chris Isaac and being pregnant I was doing a lot of vomiting. Well to this day 28 years later I still cannot listen to that album without getting queasy in the stomach! And the truth is I love the songs, it’s just that my brain associates the music with the vomiting.
Thanks for sharing your musical experiences, I’ve got to explore more of Stevie Nicks solo.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Oh my goodness, Mary! What a story and what a crazy association! I have a nauseous response whenever I hear anything by the band Sublime. Different reason though…I dated this ridiculous guy many years ago and he was obsessed with that band. It was all he listened to. And by the end of the relationship, I was so disgusted by him that every time I hear that music, I actually have a physical response of queasiness and I can’t turn off the music fast enough! Thanks so much for stopping by and for sharing your story! And yes, Stevie Nicks…you can’t go wrong!
xoxo
Shelbee
Lucy At Home
I love this post – music is so powerful and when you find something that you really connect with, it can be such a great healer – music expresses the emotions that we need to verbalise but don’t know how. #blogcrush
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Lucy, I agree with you completely! I am so in tune to music and lyrics lately for helping me to express myself. Thanks so much for reading.
xoxo
Shelbee
Malin - Sensational Learning with Penguin
Oh I so agree on the importance of music! I’m not sure I’d be able to do a post like this, it’s so hard to choose, so respect to you for putting this together! I’m trying to make a ‘My Top 100’ list on Spotify… it’s over three years since I started on that now, and I’m not sure it’ll ever be finished ☺️ Also, I now and then go back to listen to more of what my favourite artists have done, and usually then find loads of new favourite songs to add to my list. Like after Bowie died, I added more songs to my ‘Best of Bowie’ Spotify list, and now that one is well over a 100 songs on its own! But the process is of course very rewarding in itself, and the final product is not that important. Keep enjoying the music! x #BlogCrush
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Malin, thank you so very much for stopping by and sharing your relationship with music! I really think music knows no boundaries and effects everyone in some way. It comes into our lives in the most unsuspecting of ways and then hits hard…good, bad, or indifferently. It makes us feel and helps us to articulate those feelings…even if in the words of someone else. I have never used Spotify but I may have to look into that now! I hope you have the most fabulous music-filled day!
xoxo
Shelbee
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Ines
wonderful text🙂 music is also a very important part of my life. My favorites these days are “Run”, “Burn chile” “Water falls”, “Learning to live”, “Caught out in the rain” (and so many another songs..). I adore her, and I envy you a little bit for meeting her and hugging her ♥️
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Ines! Music and the people who create it for us are so important. Beth Hart is a testament to that in my life! She is on tour starting in April and performing near me but I don’t think I can make the show. Which is a total bummer because she rarely tours the U.S. these days. It is nice to meet another Beth Hart fan!
xoxo
Shelbee