Soul Music

I love music. I don't really care for heavy metal music, but apart from that I will listen to almost anything once. And if I don't like it then I can at least say I tried, and everyone is different. I really like songs I can sing to, which might not be a good thing for others, but I enjoy it!  I seem to have an uncanny ability to remember song lyrics to most songs I hear. I only need to hear them once or twice and I seem to be able to sing them. And I don't really forget them....I don't know how I do it.  I think that skill shows how much music really means to me.

I think my love of music came from my Dad, when we were growing up we would listen to music at nights rather than have the TV on. All different types. I blame him for my eclectic music tastes - he loved most genres too so we got exposed to quite an array.

Even now if I'm home the TV is off and the music is playing. Since his passing, I will often listen to songs that I listened to with him - they bring back so many memories.

Why is music so good for the soul? There is quote by the rapper Frank Ocean that I think sums it up:

'When you're happy you enjoy the music, when you're sad you understand the lyrics.'

It's so true. Music has a way of touching us no matter what the situation. It can get you boogying on a dance floor, get you through a break up, give you strength when you need it, get across a message that you otherwise couldn't, and bring people together. It really is such a powerful communication tool. It can have such impact, it can make you laugh, cry, hurt, heal and find strength when you needed it.

And so brings me to the point of this post.

A friend of mine asked me the other day:

If you had to choose a song to describe your life, an anthem, what would you choose?

Wow.

I was pretty much floored. Like I said above, I like most types of music and therefore my music collection is quite extensive. So to choose one was beyond difficult.

I tried so hard to find just one, and  I couldn't do it. And then I thought that I didn't want to choose only one song.  So I decided that I would choose songs to reflect certain times or things in my life, after all our lives change so much so why shouldn't our anthems too?

So far I have come up with three, that mean something to me. They either reflect how I feel now, or how I have felt at some stage.

They are:

• Songbird - Eva Cassidy
• Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield
• What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong

That's the three so far....there will be more to come no doubt, depending on what life decides to give me!  I also think I might add songs that I have memories about, either good or bad.  I think once I have a few more I am going to create a playlist so that I can listen to them all at once. Hopefully it's a good experience, I am looking forward to seeing how they all make me feel! Kind of like a musical photo album! 

Why don't you give it a go? Think of an anthem (or three, forty or six hundred and eleven!) It's your life, they're your anthems and you can have as many as you like!

I'd love to hear them

Keep smiling! 

xx