Day 59 - A song from your childhood

Alright. So this is a bit tough. I didn't really listen to music when I was younger, and the only songs that I ever really knew were either lullabies or classical music that I listened to at home (sometimes we had classical music in the background, not quite sure why though). Since I don't really remember any of the classical songs, here's something that I would fall asleep to every night:

So I'm not going to lie: I like it when my mom sings it better. Her voice is so soothing, and not nearly as .... lively as this version of the song.

But I also have to admit that this isn't the song that I wanted to put on. But I couldn't find a video of the song. It's called "I See the Moon," and though there are versions of the song on YouTube, none of the version that I grew up with. It goes:

I see the moon

The moon sees me

The moon sees the one I want to see.

Please let the moon that shines on me

Shine on the one I love

Over the mountains

Over the seas

That's where my true love

Is waiting for me.

So please let the moon that shines on me

Shine on the one I love.

It's a sad premise - being separated from the one that you love. But I've also found that this is the song that I sing to myself if I'm having a bad time, and want to be somewhere else, or with someone else. It's the song that I sing when I'm missing someone, and just wish that we could be connected in some way.

I sang it to myself last summer, when I was separated from my friends and the person I was starting a relationship with. I sang it when we had to leave Louisiana to head back up north. I sang it when I couldn't fall asleep on the first night at college. And I sing it when I just need to remind myself that somewhere, someone is looking at the same moon, and the same stars. And that person might be thinking about me, just as I am about them.

Day 58 - A song that makes you feel guilty

This post is somewhat odd. Songs don't usually make me feel guilty, unless they're a guilty pleasure (which I've already written about). But maybe this will fit the bill:

So I guess you could put any Beatles song in here and it would still make me feel guilty (except for Here Comes the Sun). I'll try to explain why ... in letter form.

Hi.

I'm sorry that I never gave the Beatles a chance. I know they were your favorite. You knew every song, every meaning behind the words. You would hum their songs, and were excited every time they came on the radio.

I'm not quite sure why I didn't give them a chance. I mean, years ago I was in love with Here Comes the Sun (hence the exception above). But other than that, none of their music really stuck with me after the first couple of times I listened to it.

But your love of the Beatles has made me feel guilty, even though I know that I don't have any reason to feel guilty anymore. After all, it doesn't really matter if I like them. It wasn't going to change the shape of the universe, or give me the meaning of life. It would have probably just been ... nicer ... of me to try to give them a chance, or at least tolerate them a bit more.

So here it is: I feel guilty for not liking the Beatles. I apologize to them. And I apologize to you.

I hope somewhere you're still humming the tunes. One of us should be.

Day 57 - A song that you wish you could play

Hmmmm .... there are a lot of songs that I wish I could play. There are obviously some of the "classics" -Beethoven, Mozart, etc. But I think I'd most like to learn this:

Okay, granted, this is two songs. I'm sorry, but I really couldn't pick just one. Rather, I'd love to learn how to play the entire Cinema Paradiso soundtrack. It is just absolutely beautiful. Especially when the movie is played too.

I remember watching the movie in my high school Italian class. It was beautifully done, and it is still undoubtedly one of my favorite movies (along with a couple of other Italian ones as well). I remember sitting in the darkened classroom, finishing the movie, and crying. The ending just hits me. And the Italian language was just so filled with anguish, with despair, that I had no choice but to let my emotions get the better of me.

I'll never forget that moment. The moment when the old man gives his speech to the boy. The moment the boy is taken in by the man, who learns to love him. And, most importantly, the moment the boy realizes just how much the old man means to him.

It's a beautiful movie. In a beautiful language. With an absolutely gorgeous soundtrack.

Day 56 - A song you can play on an instrument

I know how to play this song on the piano. I stumbled across it one day when I was looking for new piano music, and, lo and behold, I fell in love with it.

Though I hadn't played it in (quite literally) months, the other day I had a lot on my mind. So I borrowed a music practice room in my dormitory and sat down at the piano, intending to just punch on some keys to let out my frustration. Or just sit there and listen to the gorgeous tunes coming from the other rooms. But instead, I found that my fingers moved along the keyboard and played this song. Completely from memory.

This song soothes me - it allows me to think while still enveloping me in peacefulness. It's kind of like a friend who is there if you need to talk, but is also nice to just have around as another person. But here, the song gives me the chance to think things through, to contemplate the dilemmas I am facing, but also fill the room with butterflies and reassurance.

Day 55 - A song that makes you laugh

Well, it may not make me laugh, but it certainly makes me smile.

I'm not really quite sure why this song makes me smile: maybe it's the beat, or maybe it's the fact that they mention summertimes in northern Michigan, which reminds me of so many good times.

One summer I went up to my friend's cottage for a week. We had fun playing in the lake, and going into town. We both bought yarn to spool knit, which is still one of my favorite things to do if I have extra time on my hands. It is amazing. But the best part of the week we spent up there? Spending time with her family, and making a bunch of everlasting memories.

Unfortunately our friendship has fallen apart. I miss it. Honestly and truly. But I also know that people change, and I am thankful that I was able to make so many memories with her while our friendship lasted.

And the summertimes in northern Michigan can never be replaced. They'll be with me all summer long. Heck, they'll be with me throughout my life.

Day 54 - A song you want to play at your funeral

I must admit - I've known that this song fits the topic for years. It sounds morbid, and maybe it is, but it's also true. It has a special significance, and holds a very special place in my heart.

First off, we're Scottish. The Ferguson clan. And every year, our church holds a "Scottish Sunday," where they bring in a Scottish band, complete with kilts, funny hats, bagpipes, and drums. There's even a giant sword. There's the presentation of the tartans, and dancing afterwards.

But during the service, they always play this song, and it always makes my mom and I cry. Like babies. Because not only do I find bagpipe music some of the most beautiful music in existence, but Amazing Grace was played at my grandmother's funeral. And those two factors combine to make the most beautiful, but also the most heart-wrenching song I could ever hear.

So here it is: the song I want to play at my funeral. I want bagpipes, and the bagpipers to be dressed in Ferguson tartan kilts. And please play all of the verses - I hate how people only know the first one.

(I like the second one better, but the first has some nice shots of them actually playing)

Day 53 - A song that you want to play at your wedding.

There are a couple of songs I would want to play at my wedding, but I don't know all of them yet. Of course, I'll probably have the traditional wedding march, and I'd like to eventually have my new-husband and I's "song" play sometime during the reception, no matter how outdated it is. But other than that? I'll have to think ... I know there are some songs that I personally love, and can somewhat imagine them at my wedding ... maybe.

I've always loved this song. And the music video. I think that the song is just the sweetest, and ... well ... I guess I just don't really know. I'd always heard the song at the most random times, and no matter what mood I was in, this song was guaranteed to put a smile on my face. It may be Howie Day. It may be the lovey-dovey aspect of the song. And it may be because there's just some emotion that seems to transcend the lyrics that makes this song stick in my heart.