Soundtracks
October 3, 2016
I was checking out at Trader Joe’s, Twist and Shout was playing over the speakers. He sang a verse and said “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, this always reminds me”. We all have our soundtracks. Tell me your story, I will tell you mine.
We heard the flock of geese fly over the house, calling to another another, maybe calling to us. My son and I rushed to the door, stepped outside to watch them in a perfect V formation fly overheard. Nature has a soundtrack. Nature has a rhythm.
Toora Loora Loora is my mother rocking my younger brothers to sleep, or me cradling my babies, crooning, “that’s an Irish lullaby.” Twinkle twinkle is babies, and toddlers, along with It’s a Small World, and I’m a Little Teapot, every Disney Princess soundtrack, Barbie soundtracks, Do Your Ears Hang Low, and Thomas the Train. Toot Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car, The Wiggles and Raffi songs. Or I’ve Been Working on the Railroad when I would start with, “get out your hammers!” Or “deep in the hundred acre woods, where Christopher Robin plays”… Over the River and through the woods to Music Together classes, library sing a longs, songs in the car, songs in the bath with Rub a Dub Dub. Songs in the morning, songs tucked into bed at night.
Jesu Joy, Canon in D and the bride enters, down the aisle to her groom, graduates enter to Pomp and Circumstance and leave to Ode to Joy. Hats are thrown to music, bouquets are thrown to music, lives begin with music. And in masses, with tears, and memories, and solemness, end as well.
Tell me your story, I will tell you mine. For it was Mary, my father sang to me. Or I remember standing next to my Nana at mass, looking up at her as she sang every song with reverence and heart. St Elmo’s soundtrack is high school and college so many, that my children all know which ones are throwbacks to Catholic University days sealed into memory like mixed cassette tapes. Or my first Communion when I was given the instructions to sing the Alleluia as loud as I could. I stepped to the pulpit and sang as loud as I possibly could which may have sounded like a scream song.
Remember these?
As a child we would sing Do Re Mi, my mother doling out verses. Being the second in line I took “ray a drop of golden sun” but longed for “far a long long way to run” better hand gestures, but that was given to number 4, my lovely sister Anne.
I tell my children the Muppet’s Theme is our family song. For no reason. I think it is funny, and peppy. I like peppy. I like funny. I like “dreams, those were nightmares!” And “it’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights.” Once we saw a Muppet’s music celebration at Carnegie Hall, the last song the Rainbow Connection. The audience joined in and all of Carnegie Hall rang out “someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and me.” It felt like anything was possible in that moment, world peace, an end to famines. No more heart ache, no more strife.
I heard a story once of WWI on Christmas Eve, a cease fire was declared and soldiers crossed into enemy territory to exchange gifts and tokens, to sing Christmas carols together, and even played soccer. If music and soccer can do that, anything is possible.
Panis Angelicus, Amazing Grace, Hail Holy Queen, and Immaculate Mary, Let It Be could be my anthem. “Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be”…. Mother Mary comes to me. Let it be.
Sing, Sing a Song is my mother. And Hey Jude is my awesome older brother Jude. And Try Everything is my youngest who is always singing, always humming a tune. This one until I finally asked her, what song is that?? And then it became my favorite too. We Will Rock you is my son, affectionately known as “Buddy” And Maggie May of course for my Maggie, or Go Lassie Go.
I create playlists for birthday parties, for exercise, for celebrations and holidays. We wait all year for Christmas carols, Silent Night, and Oh Little Town of Bethlehem. Music weaves life together, it centers our story.
Tell me your story, I will tell you mine. There are thousand ways to say love. There are a thousand ways to sing it.
Written by Mary Kate O’Malley
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