#19 Thursday Thirteen, Songs of My Life

Yesterday I was driving home listening to a Classic Rock station when Stairway to Heaven came on, the radio got turned up and I started singing along while playing a little air guitar. I was a teenager again until the line of cars on the exit ramp started moving and I was back to reality. But that few moments of "a bustle in my hedgerow" gave me the 13 Songs that are more than just notes and words in my life and trigger specific memories.

1. Stairway to Heaven: The longest slow dance song known to all teenagers. Even now, that song is played at our 7th and 8th grade dances as the last song. How awkward it gets though, when the beat changes, do you cling? Or do you break apart and dance?

2. American Pie by Don Mclean: A great song to sing, but I remember this from sixth grade when the priest asked the church full of kids for a first Friday of the month Mass what songs had God in them and American Pie was mentioned.

Did you write the book of love,
And do you have faith in God above,
If the Bible tells you so?
Do you believe in rock ’n roll,
Can music save your mortal soul,
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

3. Sugar, Sugar : The only song by a non-musical group and my first 45, how can your forget your first record?

4. House of the Rising Sun: One of the only songs I could play on the Guitar

5. Cecilia by Simon and Garfunkel: My cousins and I could belt this out in in 1972, I doubt that I knew what it was about....

Makin' love in the afternoon with Cecilia
Up in my bedroom (makin' love)
I got up to wash my face
And when I come back to bed someone's taken my place

6. Faure Requiem: We sang this in high school chorus and when I hear it, I get goosebumps remembering how awesome it felt to be able to sing it as a group and remember my time as a chorus geek. I lived near Boston and we had a very talented teacher at the time.

7. I wonder what the King is Doing Tonight: I grew up listening to Camelot and Man of La Mancha thanks to my parents. My father has always said that he wants this particular song played at his funeral, would make it interesting!

8. Fire on High by ELO- This is a song that I would turn up really loud on Thursday evenings when I was in college. Because, you know, the weekends really start on Thursday nights when you are in college.

9. Duchess by Genesis- I didn't even know who Genesis was until college and this song reminds me of my room mate. To this day, one of us will hear the song and use it as an excuse to call each other.

10. Don't Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult- Stephen King had the lyrics to this song in The Stand and when I hear this song, I think of the book. The Stand is one of the few books that I have read more than once as an adult. Spooky how the song fits the book.

Dont´t Fear (the Reaper) Lyrics

11. Building a Mystery by Sarah McLachlan- The summer that my brother was sick, I had a portable cd player and I played this song along with the entire album constantly. It was a calming album to listen to and helped me through a difficult time.

12. Eminence Front by The Who- The song playing when I got engaged, not the most romantic, but every time I hear the song, I remember!

13. Love Shack by the B-52s- This song showed up on another 13 list where the blogger ( I think, Dog's Eye view) hated the song, which I can understand, but it just makes me want to stop what I am doing and dance! It reminds me of summer jobs while in college and dances at the campground we used to go to, all fun stuff!Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


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