That’s Why Our Hearts Have Beats

Have you ever played 20 Questions to get to know someone? One of my favorite questions to ask is “What is your favorite song?” You can learn a lot about a person if you discover the songs that mean the most to them.

One night at dinner, my daughter asked everyone what their favorite song of all time was. November Rain is my mom’s favorite, and my dad’s pick is Nobody’s Fault But Mine. Guns N Roses released November Rain in 1991 when my mom was 33. Led Zepplin introduced the world to Nobody’s Fault But Mine in 1976. My dad was 14. My favorite song, however, hit the airwaves in 1973, seven years before I was born. In my forty years on God’s green earth, I have yet to find a song that touches my soul more than Dobie Gray’s Drift Away.

Growing up, my parents and grandparents exposed me to all different genres of music from classic rock to country to polka! I am so grateful for their influence. If you looked at my iTunes library, you’d find an eclectic mix of just about everything. Tune a radio to any station, and I bet within three songs, I’ll be singing along.

Life without music would be absolutely unbearable. A great song has an almost supernatural ability to instantly transport you to another place and time. Unchained Melody takes me back to the Main Pavilion at the Washington Park on a sultry summer Sunday night when I was only eleven. Turn The Page reminds me of laying on the living room floor with my Daddy listening to the 8track with ridiculously large stereo headphones. Eddie Rabbit’s I Love a Rainy Night was a favorite of mine as a toddler, and I drove my mom and Mummum insane asking to hear “Lubarainia.” Hall and Oates’ Maneater whisks me back to a hotel room in Cincinnati.

So many songs hold deep meanings for me, but none have the power to soothe like Drift Away. As soon as I hear those first few notes, the tension I’ve inevitably been carrying around instantly dissolves. I immediately exhale, close my eyes, and get lost in the music. It’s magical. It’s spiritual. It’s powerful beyond words. I can feel it from my head to my toes. It really does free my soul.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. It really does mean so much to me, and I appreciate you spending your precious time indulging my hobby. Take a moment to comment. Tell me what music moves you…and then crank it up!!!