Summary

The author describes waking up with a Coldplay song stuck in their head despite not having heard it for years, reflecting on the involuntary nature of earworms and the role of music in our lives.

Abstract

In a personal anecdote, the author recounts the experience of waking up with Coldplay's "Yellow" inexplicably playing in their mind, prompting a contemplation on how and why certain songs can involuntarily dominate our thoughts. The piece explores the idea that our minds might act like jukeboxes, with songs that can play without our control, and questions whether we choose the music we listen to or if it chooses us. The author suggests that music is an inherent part of life, compelling us to dance and move, and thus, it keeps us engaged in the continuous journey of life. The article ponders the deeper connection between music and the human soul, encouraging readers to consider the impact of music on their daily actions and emotions.

Opinions

The author believes that the phenomenon of having a song stuck in one's head, an "earworm," is a curious aspect of human experience, highlighting the unpredictability of the mind.
Music is seen as a force that can take over our thoughts and actions, with the power to make us dance and engage in physical movement, even when we are not actively choosing to listen to it.
The article suggests that our control over the music in our lives is an illusion, and that sometimes songs fight their way into our consciousness.
There is an opinion that our bodies are naturally inclined to respond to music, and resisting this inclination might prevent us from fully experiencing life.
The author implies that music might be a reflection of our inner selves, and that our reaction to it can be akin to how we would treat a very beautiful person asking us to dance—it's something we should embrace rather than resist.
The piece conveys a sense of wonder about the involuntary nature of earworms and encourages a philosophical view on the role of music as something that connects us to our true souls.

A Song in My Head

How did it get there?

A few mornings ago I woke up with a Coldplay song looping in my noggin. I don’t think I’ve heard that song in at least three years. What the hell made it suddenly start playing?

The noggin is a funny thing.

What would make a song I haven’t heard in three years suddenly start playing in my noggin? I didn’t search for it on my mental search engine. It was too early for any of the engines of my noggin to be fully working. I had just gotten up from sleeping.

But this song was blaring out. I couldn’t find the volume controls even if I wanted to. It just started playing and playing and playing.

I got out of bed and put on my flip-flops. Standing fully erect seemed to make no difference to the song resounding across the tableau of my VERY early morning.

I found myself practically dancing to the bathroom. I was lucky to not have bumped into anything.

As the song continued to pound away in my noggin I finally made it to the bathroom. And then suddenly everything was…

… yellow.

Okay, that was a cheap joke. But seriously, the Coldplay song, Yellow, just turned itself on and it seemed to take over my noggin. It kept playing, on and off, for almost 48 hours! And I was utterly helpless to turn it off. None of the buttons and switches seemed to work. It just played of its own accord.

Are we a jukebox that we mistakenly think we have control over? Or do the songs sometimes take over? Do we really pick the music or does it pick us?

Are your buttons and switches seemingly working of their own accord? Have you lost control?

Have you surrendered control?

Is there nothing left to do but dance to the song? We have bodies and those bodies are hardwired to dance. We can deny it all we want but it is the gosh darn truth. Music is what conspires to get us dancing and thereby performing our natural physical functions. If we don’t let the music in then we not only cut off the dance mojo but we keep our world from turning.

And we all know that that is something we really can’t stop from happening — certainly not for long.

It’s like a very, very beautiful person walking up to you and asking you to dance. Are you really going to say no? Are you really going to stop the music? Can you really stop your body from moving?

And what if that beautiful person was you? How differently would you treat that beautiful person than all others? How much would you love that beautiful person?

We all have music in the background of our lives. That music keeps us moving. Without moving we would never continue along our infinite journey. It’s kind of like peristalsis. We don’t silently walk into the future. We dance into it. We MOVE into it.

Sometimes songs just have to fight their way into our lives in any way they can so that they can keep us dancing and moving. The question to this is, How do we respond?

Do we dance? Do we say yes? Do we move? Do we try to shut off the music? Are we okay with bumping into the corner of the wall because we are dancing to the bathroom instead of walking to it? Are our bodies moving not to our directives but to a sound and rhythm both outside of ourselves as well as in the deepest depths of our body and being? To something we would be fools to say no to? Does music connect us to that which expresses our true soul?

What do you listen to on the way to the bathroom in the morning? What comes on when you turn on your inner jukebox? What do you do when the jukebox suddenly comes on all by itself? How much of your day is spent dancing? What music makes you move? Are you listening to it? Are you dancing to it?

A Song in My Head

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