Tag: music

Hello Silence, You Touched My Soul

I think that everyone has one – the song. You know the one I mean,

The song that hit you as a young adult.

The one that you heard and it reached to the very bottom of your soul and made you cry.

THAT song!

The song that made you realize you were not alone.

I asked friends what their song was and I got some interesting responses.

Some I expected: Whitney Houston, Leonard Cohen, Alanis Morrisette.

Some I did not: Oingo Boingo, The B-52s, WHAM!

The list has some songs a lot of people might pick: Space Oddity, Cat’s In The Cradle, One Tin Soldier.

Then there was mine.

A some of you know, I grew up as a lonely nerd at a time when that was even less fashionable than it is now, This was before the Internet and before Twitter and before Marvel movies.

In addition, my home life with my mother meant that our family was isolated from the community as who wanted to be asked if their mother had had ANOTHER nervous breakdown lately and being asked by classmates who she was sleeping with this week.

My best friend from third grade, Herbie, even refused to have anything to do with me any longer after Mom’s latest adventure became known at school.

So, I was very isolated and lonely and depressed.

No – not depressed enough to end things but people would have understood, I think, if I had.

So, I spent my late elementary years hiding in the barn. I had created a sort of shelter in the old shed but Mom burned that down one night in a psychotic fit.

Under the hay in a corner of the hayloft were my magazines, some books and a transistor radio.

That transistor radio was a life saver. I would turn it up loud as I read “National Geographic” and the songs would echo from the rafters.

Radio stations were my friends:

WCOL!

WNCI!

QFM96!

I would get lost for a couple hours before I had to return to the chaos that was my home life.

After a particularly bad day where someone tried to beat up the nerd at school and having the principal refuse the do anything about it because it would entail making my mother come to school and he had had one too many run-ins with her, and then having my mother yell at me when I got home because the sky was blue, I fled to my sanctuary in the hayloft. I grabbed an Issac Asimov novel and turned on the radio.

I was at rock bottom…

That is when it started to play:

“Hello, Darkness, My Old Friend

I’ve come to talk with you again,”

My heart stopped! And then it slowly began again,

The song was resounding in MY soul and I did not know how to react as it continued to play.

It went on and on!

“Within the sound of silence”

Each verse dug deeper into me and cracks began to appear.

Someone else was out there who understood.

“Narrow streets I walked alone.”

NO! I now knew somebody else walked them with me!

I started to scream in pain, joy and release as the song crescendoed.

I WAS NOT ALONE!

“And echoed in the wells of silence…”

As the song ended, I knew there was someone else out there like me.

I would not give in!

I would take all that life threw at me and I would face it down!

I WOULD LIVE!

and, I have…

Thank you, Simon and Garfunkel.

The Legacy Lives On!!!

My Dad’s passing has made me sit and think about the legacy I want to leave behind.

My Dad did it right. I mean every body talks about what a great guy he was and how he made their lives better.

I know I want that, too, but how?

He loved country music and all of us kids do, too. But I can’t carry a tune in a bucket.

Thank God for the radio and being alone in the car singing and driving.

I love singing at the top of my lungs and driving even if I am practically breaking the glass with those off-key notes.

So, he passed that on to me but what will I pass on?

Well, it came time to start drafting my will and I had to make some decisions.

The house – easy – to the hub.

Cookbooks – again – easy – the Cooking Guild.

But then it got harder.

Renn Faire clothes – that one was gonna be hard as the Goodwill would not have the slightest idea what to do with them.

Camping gear – hmmmm – Boys Scouts?

And, then the hardest one – Rooby Dooby Doo!

You see, I have one of the world’s largest collections of Scooby Doo memorabilia. Comics, books, videos, dolls and hats compete with posters, ornaments and baseball caps. And then there are the signed photos from the original animators and the stars of the movies.

I ruvs my Scooby Doo!

I was pondering this when it was time to spend time with my youngest godson, Jamie, last week.

Jamie is a quiet, shy, young man who is in his first year of college. He spends a lot of time playing games and watching movies and we have always had a very special relationship.

So, last week, I took him out to dinner to give him a belated Christmas gift. We told stories and laughed and just enjoyed each other’s company until it came time to go home.

That is when he made an unusual request that became the first of two amazing gifts he gave me.

“Uncle Mike, Dad has been working on his will and it has made me start to think.”

“He is?”

“Yes, and it started me to think about you.”

“Oh?”

“Yes,” he smiled. “I know this sounds odd but when you get around to writing your will, could I ask a favor?”

“Okay…” I looked at him.

“Well, if Uncle Jim doesn’t want it, can I have your Scooby Doo collection?”

Talk about synchronicity!

“Really?!?”

He smiled.

“Oh, yeah! You know how I love Scooby Doo!”

Having sat through many an episode with him on a Saturday morning while babysitting, yes, I did know.

“Consider it done!”

We hugged on the way to the car.

It was about a fifteen-minute ride on the way back to his Dad’s place. That is when he gave me the second and even greater gift.

We were driving along when he popped on the radio. A song began and I recognized it and was going to start humming when the windows went down, and the volume hit 10!

“Blame it all on my roots

I showed up in boots

And ruined your black-tie affair” Jamie sang out!

I peeked over and his face lit up!

“Come on, Uncle Mike. Come on!”

And the chorus started!

“I got Friends in Low Place

Where the whiskey flows and the beer chases my blues away

And I’ll be okay”

“LOUDER!” he shouted.

“I’m not much for social graces

Think I’ll slip on down to the oasis.” I sang

And we both joined in!

‘Cause I got friends in low places!!!!”

And then I knew!

DAD! You’re legacy lives on!!!

Copyright 2022 M.J. Hobbs. The song lyrics are not mine. The other words are.

A Life In Lyrics

Music has always been a big part of my life for as far back as I can remember.

After all of the time I spent driving with Dad in his old pickup listening to songs on the radio and all of time I spent watching Mom cavort around the living room to Elvis blaring as loud as possible on that old stereo, it would probably be a miracle if I didn’t like music.

So, I decided to try an experiment: I am going to tell the story of my life in song lyrics.

The only rules are:

  1. The song cannot be too obscure.
  2. The songs do not have to be in chronological order.
  3. The lyrics tell the story but may be taken out of context.

So, let’s start:

 

Introduction:

“My name is Micheal.

I got a nickel.

I got a nickel

Shiny and new…”

Clint Holmes – Playground In My Mind (1972)

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BolPQL83hFA

 

My earliest memory of Dad:

“Movin’ right along
Footloose and fancy-free
Getting there is half the fun, come share it with me
Movin’ right along
We’ll learn to share the load
We don’t need a map to keep this show on the road”

Movin’ Right Along (From “The Muppet Movie”/Soundtrack Version)

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6NQcO9KTBY)

 

My earliest memory of Mom:

“Every breath you take and every move you make
Every bond you break, every step you take, I’ll be watching you
Every single day and every word you say
Every game you play, every night you stay, I’ll be watching you.”

The Police – Every Breath You Take

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOGaugKpzs

 

Earliest School Memory:

“When I think of home
I think of a place where there’s love overflowing
I wish I was home
I wish I was back there with the things I been knowing”

Stephanie Mills – Home (Official Video)

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjMGYw7XyTU)

 

Earliest Memory of my older brother:

“Leave me alone, won’t you leave me alone
Please leave me alone, now leave me alone
Oh leave me alone, please leave me alone, yes leave me
Leave me alone, won’t you leave me alone
Please leave me alone, now leave me alone
God leave me alone, just leave me alone, oh leave me”

Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULKEBJRC0gs)

 

When we moved to the country at age seven:

“Yes I’m stuck in the middle with you,
And I’m wondering what it is I should do,
It’s so hard to keep this smile from my face,
Losing control, yeah, I’m all over the place,
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you”

Stuck in the Middle with you – Stealers Wheel

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMAIsqvTh7g)

 

Realizing my new teacher hated me:

“Mrs. Brown you’ve got a lovely daughter
Girls as sharp as her are somethin’ rare
But it’s sad, she doesn’t love me now
She’s made it clear enough it ain’t no good to pine.”

Hermans Hermits – Mrs. Brown you’ve got a lovely daughter 1965

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA1uknS9JgM)

 

Realizing my mother had mental issues:

“Does that make me crazy?
Does that make me crazy?
Does that make me crazy?
Possibly”

Gnarls Barkley – Crazy (Official Video)

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N4jf6rtyuw)

 

Spending time with Dad:

“Well the midnight headlights blind you on a rainy night
Steep grade up ahead, slow me down, makin’ no time,
But I got to keep rollin’
Those windshield wipers slappin’ out a tempo,
Keepin’ perfect rhythm with the song on the radio,
But I got to keep rollin’”

Eddie Rabbit “Driving My Life Away”

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tvEvBUG8mY)

 

Loving Grandma:

“When I was a little bitty boy just up off the floor
We used to go down to grandma’s house every month end or so
We’d have chicken pie, country ham
Homemade butter on the bread
But the best darn thing about grandma’s house
Was the great big feather bed.”

John Denver – Grandma’s Feather Bed

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRTxRjOg5m0)

 

Realizing Mom was a slut:

“She’s just a devil woman
With evil on her mind
Beware the devil woman
She’s gonna get you
She’s just a devil woman
With evil on her mind
Beware the devil woman
She’s gonna get you from behind”

Cliff Richard – Devil Woman (Official Video)

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgomTOOgl8M)

 

Realizing I was a nerd:

“Ever since I was a young boy
I’ve played the silver ball
From Soho down to Brighton
I must have played ’em all
But I ain’t seen nothing like him
In any amusement hall”

Elton John – 10) Pinball wizard

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joxyFDmh_LY)

 

Mom’s legal aberrations:

“My house! Is out of the ordinary
That’s right! Don’t wanna hurt nobody
Some things sure can sweep me off my feet
Burning down the house”

Talking Heads – Burning Down the House (Official Video)

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3eC35LoF4U)

 

My parents announce their divorce:

“Daddy, don’t you walk so fast
Daddy, don’t you walk so fast
Daddy, slow down some ’cause you’re makin’ me run
Daddy, don’t you walk so fast.”

Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast, Tony Christie

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh8hviz6iaU)

 

Finding the science museum (COSI) that I worked at during high school:

“We belong to the light, we belong to the thunder
We belong to the sound of the words we’ve both fallen under
Whatever we deny or embrace for worse or for better
We belong, we belong, we belong together”

Pat Benatar – We Belong (Official Video)

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxZInIyOBXk)

 

Realizing I was Gay:

“I am what I am.

And what I am needs no excuses.

I deal my own deck.

Sometimes the ace.

Sometimes the deuces”

I Am What I Am – George Hearn – La Cage Aux Folles

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIZ_833XP_I)

 

Dad gets remarried (for the second and final time):

“Love is an open door!
Love is an open door!
Love is an open door!”

Frozen Sing-Along Edition – Love is an Open Door

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQDw88hEr2c)

 

Mom gets remarried (second for six):

“Woo hoo, witchy woman
See how high she flies
Woo hoo, witchy woman
She got the moon in her eye”

Witchy Woman Eagles 1976

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc0988XxoXI)

 

I leave home to study archaeology at Beloit:

“King Tut (King Tut)
Now when he was a young man,
He never thought he’d see
People stand in line to see the boy king.
(King Tut) How’d you get so funky?
(Funky Tut) Did you do the monkey?
Born in Arizona,
Moved to Babylonia (King Tut).”

King Tut – SNL

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYbavuReVF4)

 

Mom’s second husband dies “mysteriously” one month after I leave for college:

“He had it comin’
He had it comin’
He only had himself to blame
If you’d have been there
If you’d have seen it

I betcha you would have done the same”

Chicago – Cell Block Tango

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c2bKZMxEQg)

 

The FBI calls college looking for Mom and her third husband:

“Runaway train never going back
Wrong way on a one way track
Seems like I should be getting somewhere
Somehow I’m neither here nor there”

Soul Asylum – Runaway Train (Official Video)

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRtvqT_wMeY)

 

I graduate college:

“Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing
Praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the World”

Cat Stevens – Morning Has Broken

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZAsfB1Np-8)

 

I fall in love for the first time:

“I love rock n’ roll
So put another dime in the jukebox, baby
I love rock n’ roll
So come an’ take your time an’ dance with me”

Joan Jett – I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC8oP4Z_xPw)

 

I meet my best friend Larry Sherwood:

“Thank you for being a friend
Traveled down a road and back again
Your heart is true, you’re a pal and a confidant

I’m not ashamed to say
I hope it always will stay this way
My hat is off, won’t you stand up and take a bow?”

Andrew Gold – Thank You For Being A Friend (Official Music Video)

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voNEgCKzves)

 

I lose my job and get dumped by my first boyfriend on the same day:

“I see you driving ’round town
With the girl I love and I’m like,
Fuck you!
Oo, oo, ooo
I guess the change in my pocket
Wasn’t enough I’m like,
Fuck you!
And fuck her too!
Said, if I was richer, I’d still be with ya
Ha, now ain’t that some shit? (ain’t that some shit?)
And although there’s pain in my chest
I still wish you the best with a
Fuck you!”

Cee Lo Green – FUCK YOU

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc0mxOXbWIU)

 

And I became a Bob Evans Farms Restaurant manager:

Food, glorious food!
Hot sausage and mustard!
While we’re in the mood —
Cold jelly and custard!

Oliver! – Food, Glorious Food

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEQDllvuy1I

 

And I was off to West Virginia for the next chapter of my life!:

Almost heaven, West Virginia
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River
Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains, growin’ like a breeze

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads

John Denver – Take Me Home, Country Roads (Audio)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vrEljMfXYo

Here Endeth Chapter One!