I’m a bit of an odd duck…
I know that some of you
may find that hard to believe
but there it is…
case in point
my relationship with music
I have had a soundtrack
running thru my life
right from an early age
all my most precious memories
are attached to music
I was born on July 28th 1955
tomorrow I turn 55
my first memories
are of the VOD playing the piano
and her and my fadder
singing at the top of their lungs
I remember songs like
Moon River
Waltzing Mathilda
Boogie Woogie Piano
Rock around the clock
Volare
Dream Lover
and then as time went on
the radio became my friend
Dream
Outta my Head
etc…
I remember the very first
45 record I ever saw…
Big Girls Don’t Cry
when I was 9 and we moved
away from our extended family
I felt isolated
till the teenage boy next door
started singing
Mrs Brown to me
I survived my loneliness
by listening to music
music and books…
Aaron Neville’s Tell it Like it is
Otis Redding Dock of the Bay
Bill Withers Grandma’s Hands
The Guess Who – These Eyes
as time went on and I got older
I discovered rock
my very first album was
Paul McCartney’s Ram On
and I still remember
all the words to Uncle Albert
I wore the grooves out of more
K-Tel albums than anyone
in my neighbourhood
and then I discovered rock and roll
and then metal
my families holidays revolved
around albums
Herb Albert’s & the Tijuana Brass’s
A Taste of Honey
Don Maclean’s American Pie
Simon and Garfunkle’s
Bridge over Trouble Waters
the Band Stage Fright
now days
I can very clear be rendered
to a time and location in my past
by music from that time
the other constant in my life
has been my “romantic” nature
not so much the concept of romance
between a man and a woman
although the occasional bodice ripper
doesn’t suck
but the thought of “happily ever after”
has made me a melancholy sort
and meant that I’ve used melancholy music
to adjust my mood
most of my life
I love 70’s rock n roll
Jethro Tull’s Locomotive Breath
Jimi Hendrix All Along the Watchtower
Janis Joplin – Me n Bobby McGee
Elton John Tiny Dancer
I love metal
Metallica’s Enter Sandman
Black Sabbath’s Iron Man
Deep Purple Child in Time
I love the blues
Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Riviera Paradise
Gary Moore’s Still got the Blues
Alvin Lee’s Bluest Blues
I love 80’s pop
The Bangles Walk like and Egyptian
Bonnie Tyler Total Eclipse of the Heart
Billy Joel Uptown Girl
I love hair bands
Guns n Roses Welcome to the Jungle
Van Halen’s Jamie’s Crying
I’ve listened to Indie, Grunge,
Alternative, Rap, Hip Hop, Country,
and Classical
I love the sound
of Spanish style guitar
where even the sad songs
sound happy…
Gypsy Kings Bambeleo
Jesse Cook Gravity
Ottmar Liebert La Luna
I love chorals
Libera Salva Me
Perpetuum Jazzile – Africa
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir Handel’s Halleujah
I love just about any kind of music
Enya’s Watermark transports
me back to the day my paternal
Grandmother died…
just as if it was right this minute
and Oh Canada
makes me cry
every single time
I hear it
whether it’s sung by 1 child
or 10, 000 hockey fans
some people say
that because I listen
to a lot of melancholy music
that I must really be depressed
all the time
but truly?
I revel in the memories
of life and death
as they come to me
in the sound of music
so
tonight
on the eve of my 55th birthday
I watched the movie Pirate Radio
not, I thought
for the story
but for the sound track
because I’d heard it was good…
I was seriously surprised
at the ending of this movie
and for reasons
beyond my ken
it move me to tears
not a little sniffle
but a full on sob…
so here’s the odd duck part…
as a 55 yr old
I find that being moved to tears
is no longer something
to be embarrassed about
being moved to tears
is celebrating
a life well lived
and a hope
for 55 or 60 more
odd duck er not!