The Power of A Song

THE POWER OF A SONG

Since I was a little girl I loved music. I would sit in the car and sing at the top of my lungs, but little did I know this passion of mine would hold much more meaning for me throughout my life. Songs to me are more than lyrics, they are memories. They take me back to where I was when I first heard the song, what I felt, who I was with, and songs can bring a smile to my face reminding me of those people and places.

When I hear Rascal Flatts speak of a place called Mayberry where people sit on their porch waving at those that passes by, I am reminded of where I am from, a small town with no stop lights, only a caution light at a four way intersection. I lived on the same street as my aunt, with my grandparent’s house down the street. Everyone knew everyone and you never had to worry about leaving your door unlocked. I am reminded of walking down to the drugstore on a hot summer day getting ice cream, and the sheer simplicity of my childhood.

When I hear Shania Twain on the radio, I go back to two best friends growing up with big dreams. We’d put on our cowboy boots and dance on the deck thinking we were Shania ourselves. I think of the person who taught me the meaning of friendship during those summer nights when we would put on our shows.

When I hear “Tim McGraw” by Taylor Swift, I am placed back into the summer before I left for college, the summer where I learned about love and learned what it felt like to have to let love go. She sings, “I was right there beside him all summer long, and then came time we woke up to find that summer gone.” I was leaving for college and he was staying home. Although I have moved on and do not think about that relationship often, when that song comes on I am transported back to that summer where I found out what it was to love and the painful broken feeling of realizing things between us would never be the same.

Music reminds me of the past that as years go by we tend to forget. The people that you lose touch with but still hold close to your heart. By hearing Mayberry I think of the wonderful childhood I was fortunate to have. When Shania comes on I am reminded of my first true friend, and when “Tim McGraw” starts to play I am reminded of my first love and first broken heart. Each one of those songs marks a part of my life where I was growing into the adult I am today, and sometimes it is nice to remember the people and places that have impacted your life; it is because of those reasons that I have a strong belief in the power of a song.