Favorite Song
Not long ago I heard someone sing the words, “Just a song at twilight, when the lights are low,” which is the chorus of that old song, “Love’s old Sweet Song.” Instantly, a flood of memories filled my head. This was one of my dad’s favorite songs. When I was a kid, our dad would take us to primitive camp in the forests of Utah or Arizona. After fly fishing for trout all day (so we would have something to eat), he would build a camp fire in the evening and our family would sing. We never crawled into our sleeping bags at the end of the day without singing this song. Thus hearing this song reminded of those wonderful times as a family around a camp fire.
It occurred to me that probably many people have a song that reminds them of some special event in their lives. So I decided to take a poll and was amazed at the answers I received. One person likes to hear Patsy Kline sing anything because Pasty Kline was her parent’s favorite vocalist. A young woman said, “My dad used to sing to me Van Morison’s ‘Brown-Eyed Girl.’ Even though I don’t have brown eyes, I still love that song.” A friend told me that during her junior and senior years at Ball State, “Moon River” was the hit of the day. “I went to sleep every night singing ‘Mood River’ to myself. I never hear that music that I don’t think of my college days.” A nurse mentioned having wonderful memories of traveling with a friend when “I’ve been Waiting on a Girl like You” by Foreigner was popular. “That song brings back those good times, “she said. A widow told me “In the Still of the Night” was “their” song when she and her husband-to-be danced before they married. It is still her favorite song.
I learned many people think of hymns that bring back memories. Two different women in two different places immediately responded “Amazing Grace” to my question, and amazingly, that both had the same reason. “My dad loved that song,” they said. One said she still has fond memories of her dad singing that song with a big smile on his face. Many people love “The Old Rugged Cross” because it is used at funerals so often, and they remember their loved ones through this hymn. One woman particularly remembers “Bless Be the Tie That Binds” because the congregation was singing it as she walked passed her brother’s casket.
A widow told me, “My husband would sit and rewind the tape again and again to hear ‘I’ve Just Seen Jesus.’ He said the song filled him with peace.” One young man from a large family remembers “How Great Thus Art.” She told me, ”Whenever I hear it, I think of how mother would put six of us side by side in a row and the church women would stare at us because there weren’t many big families in the church.” When I come upon “More Love to Thee, O Christ,” in our church hymnal, my wedding come back to me. We lit our marriage candle as the organ played that hymn.
No doubt, some music or a song will trigger a great memory for you. I hope this blog helps you remember it and that you experience some wonderful memories,.