Despite my lack of talent, music has always been central to who I am. I hear a song, and I can tell you exactly what was going on in my life when that song came out or when it was prominent in my life. Instead of words, I could write my story with songs. Without much thought, I could tell my story chronologically by telling you what songs were prominent at each point in my life. Or, I could use music to tell the story of my soul, how it makes me feel, what it meant and means – how it shaped me. Music is a beautiful way to define those emotions that I can’t describe any other way.

As I write this, I can’t help but think of songs that explain what I am trying to say even better than I am. I immediately think of two Taylor Swift songs. In “Tim McGraw,” she talks about using music to bring back a memory. Taylor tells a former boyfriend, “When you think Tim McGraw, I hope you think of me.” Her thought is that if he really knew her, he would connect her to Tim McGraw, and the memories would come back. I know that I connect people to certain songs in my memories, both good and bad. In Taylor’s song “Our Song,” she is upset because she and her boyfriend don’t have a song. This boyfriend immediately knows better, and he lists all of the sounds that make up their song and “Asking God if he could play it again.” I don’t know what my song is, but I know what songs make up my song.

Two other songs describe this further. Clint Black had a song in the nineties called “State of Mind” with the lyrics, “Ain’t it funny how a melody can bring back the memory/take you to another place in time/completely change your state of mind.” So very true how you can hear a few notes of a song and be transported back to that place – to that emotion. I do believe Eric Church says it best in his song “Springsteen.” The lyrics are “Funny how a melody sounds like a memory.” I think this is the essence of what I feel. The songs don’t just bring back memories – they sound like the memories – they make the memories.

It’s already obvious to those who know me best that music is the substance of my memories. I am not partial to any type of music either. It’s whatever song made the memory and inscribed it on my soul. This connection between music and my memories is also why so many things I write tie directly to a song. Stick around long enough, and you will know what songs make up My Song. I know it Felt Good on My Lips.