5 Songs That Define Me & 2 Songs I Dedicate to You
Great music to get to know me (if you dare)
Hello, fellow music fans!
Maybe I’m making an assumption there by calling you a music fan, but I’m sticking with it because I have a feeling that I’m right.
If I’m not right and you’re not a fan of music, my guess is that you’re just not listening to enough of it.
If that’s the case, it’s not too late for you to change.
I dedicate the song “Add Some Music To Your Day” by The Beach Boys to you. Please listen to it and follow the advice given in the title and lyrics.
I also dedicate this song to confirmed music lovers everywhere, because hey, it can never hurt to add more music to our days, right?
Now — on with some other shenanigans here!
I recently wrote this article which contained a writing challenge that prompted writers to share 5 songs that defined them and 5 movies that defined them.
I’ll share my movies in another article sometime soon, but here are 5 songs that define me.
They’re not necessarily my absolute “favorite songs” of all time, but they each mean a lot to me and might help others get to know me a little bit better:
1. Be Here Now — George Harrison
I’ve always had a bad habit of dwelling on bad things in my past too much. Along with that, I also have a tendency to worry too much about the future. Doing those things can often make it impossible to fully enjoy the present, which is really all that any of us truly have.
Meditation has helped me a lot with those things recently. Also, during and outside of meditating, I frequently remind myself to “be here now.” Just saying or thinking those three words at times when I’m too wrapped up in the past or worrying about the future, helps bring me back to the present moment and I immediately feel more peaceful.
2. Far From Over — Frank Stallone
While I firmly believe in “being here now,” I also firmly believe in doing my best today, so that I may have even better days in my future.
If I’m “down” or not exactly where I want to be today, that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to get to a better place either later today or sometime after that.
Like the song says, I definitely feel that I’m far from over.
While the encouraging message of the song is a big part of why I think it defines me, another reason is because the song is very, very much an 80s’ song.
It practically screams, “I was a hit song in the 1980s!”
I absolutely love the 80s — so this is definitely my kind of music.
P.S. — If you’re a runner or a stationary bike rider, this song is absolutely fantastic to run and ride to!
3. Jump — Van Halen
I just watched the above music video for approximately my 1, 984th time.
It was approximately the 1,984th time that it made me feel incredibly happy.
I love the video and I love the song. “Jump” is one of my favorites ever by anyone.
I really can’t tell you why. Maybe it’s because I was only 17 years old when the song came out and it reminds me of those times. Maybe it has nothing to do with that and I just love the music, vocals, and lyrics.
Who knows?
When you get right down to it, it usually doesn’t matter why we love music and other forms of art, does it?
All that really matters about the art that we love is that we feel a special, personal connection to it.
That’s how it is for me with “Jump” and the other songs I’m sharing here today. Each one of them is a part of me.
4. Going The Distance — Bill Conti
5. Gonna Fly Now — Bill Conti
The Rocky movies have always played a very huge part in my life. I’ve seen all of them several times and they always inspire me.
One of my favorite scenes from them is Rocky’s training session in Rocky II after his wife Adrian wakes up from a coma after giving birth to their son. As Rocky trains, the songs “Going The Distance” and “Gonna Fly Now” play and it’s wonderful.
I can not hear these two songs without feeling incredibly inspired.
And another song dedication to you all…
Better Things — The Kinks
I was initially going to include this one among my 5 song choices above, but I feel it works better as a dedication.
I once saw someone on YouTube write this in the comments for one of the videos in which “Better Things” was featured:
In the imaginary country where I am The President, this song is the National Anthem.
I wish I had said it first.
This one’s for you — all of you.
Here’s wishing you the bluest sky, And hoping something better comes tomorrow
Here’s my Songs That Define Me playlist on Spotify. It includes the above songs I mentioned and several others that I also considered for my Top 5 list.I love them all.
Thank you for reading the above! If you liked it, you may also enjoy these great articles from Terry Barr, Paul Mansfield, Paul Combs, and Jessie Waddell, all of whom participated in the same writing challenge as me:
