The Songs Challenge

“Music is what tells us that the human race is greater than we realize.” ~ Napoleon Bonaparte

I love music because it makes my soul dance. Music can express your heart’s cries when words fail you completely and can make you feel like you are flying to the ultimate heights. So many facets of creativity are wrapped up in a single concept. It’s absolutely incredible! I’ll say my taste in music is slightly jumbled and definitely confusing for someone that doesn’t know me well but I have a long list of memories associated with various songs so I thought I’d share and I’d love to know some of yours!

A song that inspires you.

I have tons of songs that inspire me for different tasks. I have a pump up list for the gym, one for when I feel spiritually exhausted and one for when I’m getting ready for a date. Each song gives me the courage, wisdom and “emotions” for the moment and I love it but recently, one song has truly stood out as inspirational and it comes from an odd source…Hamilton. The song is “Wait for It” by Leslie Odom Jr. (Aaron Burr). This song really resonates with me…

I am the one thing in life I can control. I am inimitable. I am an original. I'm not falling behind or running late. I'm not standing still I am lying in wait.

Life doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints. It takes and it takes and it takes. And we keep living anyway. We rise and we fall and we break and we make our mistakes. And if there's a reason I'm still alive when so many have died Then I'm willing to wait for it...

A song that makes you want to dance.

“Fire on Fire” by Sam Smith. I don’t know why but I think this would make such a wonderful ballroom dancing option. I know tons of people have done this for their wedding as seen on YouTube but the melody is lovely and the pace is great… she says like she knows anything about ballroom dancing.

A song from your teens.

There is a list of about a 1,000 songs that remind me of my teens. All the weekends driving around with my friends blaring classic rock, The Backstreet Boys and Disney favorites but Hanson will forever be the soundtrack of my youth. They released their second studio album “This Time Around” the summer before my freshman year and it spoke to me with their new sound. It was still pop rock but it wasn’t bubblegumy and that was what solidified my status as a Hanson fan for life. It also helped that the video took place in an old abandoned hotel. Loved it!

A song from college.

“Yeah” by Usher. Not a typical go to for me but it brings back memories of my freshman Greek Formal. Enough said.

A song from your twenties.

This is going to sound strange but when I sat down to write this I couldn’t think of one thing from my twenties. Not like, I couldn’t think of one song. I mean I couldn’t think of anything that happened in my twenties which is sad cause I’m only in my thirties! It also makes it sound like I had a way better time in my twenties than I actually did. It’s just that compared to the last few years my twenties feel very hampered so I had to do some soul searching to think of a song that had any significance to that time in my life.

Strangely enough, I found it in Katy Perry’s “Firework”. This may be the only Katy Perry song I know because that’s not really my style but I remember it being popular yet not really listening to it until I attended the Mississippi Junior Miss Program and they used it as the soundtrack for the fitness routine. If you’ve ever been to a state pageant you know that there are normally several prelim nights where all the girls compete in the same areas so you get to see/hear certain things a multitude of times before finals. By the end of the week I really liked this tune but I loved the words and the ones that hit me were, “Maybe a reason why all the doors are closed so you could open one that leads you to the perfect road.” My twenties contained a LOT of closed doors. Some doors I closed and some were slammed in my face but being reminded of the purpose behind disappointments lifted my spirits and it didn’t hurt that this truth came in the form of a Billboard chart topper.

A song that needs to be played LOUD.

“You Give Love A Bad Name” by Bon Jovi. Actually, I’ve found that any hair band jam from the 80s requires excessive volume and singing at the top of your lungs! There are times I truly miss cruising in my Firebird blaring classic rock…it’s just not the same in a Hyundai.

A song that breaks your heart.

“So Close” by Jon McLaughlin is a beautiful ballad from the pivotal moment in the movie “Enchanted”. The song speaks of looking for “that famous happy end” and being so close to it but so far. I think we’ve all had a moment when we thought that maybe we’d found the one or we can remember the one that got away or the one that you know you could be amazing with if they could only see the real you. That’s why this moment in the movie is heartbreaking and why the song is so poignant. Close isn’t always close enough…

A song by your favorite band.

This is a toughy for me because I love all of Hanson’s music but I think if I had to pick just one as a favorite it would be “Give a Little”. This song is so upbeat and catchy that you can’t help but smile while listening to it. Even my kiddos at school like the tune and that’s saying a lot!

A song that was sung to you.

My mother obviously sang to me as a child and these were all lovely melodies but this is not the song that stands out in my memory as being sung to me. That distinction goes to a far stranger title and came from an odd source. I went out a few times with a guy who was a bit of an strange cookie and one night he decided to serenade me which sounds quite romantic until you learn that he chose “Eleanor Rigby” by the Beatles a marginal romantic tune at best considering it’s about a lonely woman who lives and dies alone. If you know me, you know I laugh when things get awkward. I was in hysterics. Bless it!

A song you loved in childhood.

I know this is going to come as a major shock to some of you but I was a bit of an odd child. *sarcasm intended* My list of favorite childhood albums is proof of that. For example, I loved listening to Johnny Mathis, the Grease soundtrack and the Partridge Family. In fact, one of my earliest musical memories revolves around my mother’s Partridge Family album. I would listen to “I Think I Love You” on our old turntable for hours while dancing on my toy box and had the privilege of seeing David Cassidy perform this classic live. It’s still one of my favorites!

What music do you have tied to memories? First loves? Best friends? Amazing road trips? I truly believe that music and laughter are necessary components of a beautiful life and inspire so many beautiful moments!