Almost half a century ago, a man and a woman fell in love and were married. They danced to For Once in My Life by Stevie Wonder at their wedding.
For once in my life I won’t let sorrow hurt me
Not like it’s hurt me before
For once, I have something I know won’t desert me
I’m not alone anymore
The couple had a girl child, who loved dancing from the beginning. As a baby, she would sit on the floor and move her shoulders up and down whenever her parents played Johnny Nash’s I Can See Clearly Now.
I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.
Here is the rainbow I’ve been praying for.
It’s gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright) sunshinin’ day.
The girl grew. She and her sister sang songs together, sometimes re-enacting entire movie musicals like Grease. Because she was the older sister, she was Sandy and her little sister was Danny. The pair performed Kenny Roger’s The Gambler for their parents; she still knows all the words.
And somewhere in the darkness
The gambler he broke even
And in his final words
I found an ace that I could keep
As she got older, the girl spent hours in her room belting out the soundtracks to Annie and A Chorus Line. She dreamed of being a Broadway star. She still does.
The girl grew some more. She bought her own albums and made herself a sequined glove like her idol’s. She watched the Thriller video over and over until she could perform the entire zombie dance sequence.
The girl became a teenager and met a boy. They went to Record and Tape Trader’s and bought the Journey album that contained their song, Open Arms.
So now I come to you with open arms
Nothing to hide, believe what I say
So here I am, with open arms
Hoping you’ll see, what your love means to me
The girl went to college and broke up with the boy. She met another boy, and they talked and talked and listened to Depeche Mode. They whispered the words of their song, Somebody, to each other, letting it speak the words they wanted to say.
I want somebody to share
Share the rest of my life
Share my innermost thoughts
Know my intimate details
The girl became a young woman, and the boy became a young man. The woman and man loved each other, and the man proposed while When I Fall in Love was playing in the background.
When I give my heart
It will be completely
Or I’ll never give my heart
And the moment that I can feel that you feel that way too
Is when I fall in love with you
The woman said yes, and they were married. In the presence of all the people they loved, they danced for the first time as husband and wife, to Always and Forever by Heatwave.
Everyday love me your own special way
Melt all my heart away with a smile
Take time to tell me you really care
And we’ll share tomorrow together
The couple had a girl child of their own, and then a boy child. The young family sometimes danced together after dinner, twirling and spinning and switching partners while they sang Overjoyed with Stevie Wonder.
And though you don’t believe that they do
They do come true
For did my dreams
Come true when I looked at you
And maybe too, if you would believe
You too might be
Overjoyed
The children grew, and created their own memories with songs of their own. Some still include the woman, like the ringtone for her daughter, Isn’t She Lovely. The children know the older songs that their parents sing in the car, and that makes the woman happy. The story of her life is a mix tape of songs, with plenty of room for the music yet to come.
Can I tell you how much I love this post? Just seeing the lyrics brought a broad smile to my face, especially the Heatwave, Journey, and Stevie songs. Girl, we have similar taste in music! Loving “the story of your life” as set to music. Cheers
So glad you enjoyed it, Alison!
Yes! Open Arms. I had the 45 of that one. And Somebody by Depeche Mode I played like crazy. Both were favorites “at different times of my life,” or so I would’ve said dramatically as I went from 13 to 15!
Well, 13 and 15 are very different times!
It sounds like a wonderful life with a very nice soundtrack to go along with it!
It is, Debbie. I’m a lucky gal.
ahh.. I can play Open Arms on the piano! Vaguely. And I would totally pay to see you on Broadway.
I love that we both talked about Thriller!
And the way you wrote this is pretty top-notch!
Thanks Tamara! Thriller is classic. My niece and nephew had a dance-a-thon at their elementary school a few years ago, and the whole student body did the Thriller dance sequence.
When I saw the topic for the last FTSF I thought of you. Knew you’d come up with a corker of a post. It was lovely to read about your life through the songs.
Thank you Kelly!
Beautiful, Dana! This post reminded me of the “Who I Am Project”!
You’re right, Mo!
So many good songs! Just the thought of “I Can See Clearly Now” makes me smile 🙂
It’s a great song, isn’t it?
Oh Dana, this is such a lovely post. Yes, this is a good life soundtrack. <3
Thank you Mardra!
That was such a beautiful tribute to your family and music! Expertly woven! I’m always amazed at how music evokes such strong memories, and they are memories we never forget.
It was really fun being here again, like visiting an old friend, thanks for letting me be a part of it!
You were one of my first blog friend, Jen…so it was fun to do a linkup with you again!
This is such a beautiful love story using music! If I were a teacher and could grade this post, it would be marked with a A+. The songs, the voices of the singers, etc. are so fitting.
Thank you Pat!
I love how you did this, Dana! So creative and completely awesome. The Gambler was one of the first songs I learned all the words to, too. My parents had the record and I used to put the head phones on and sing into a tape recorder along with it. That and Kenny Roger’s Morgana Jones (which I think was on the other side of record but now I’m not positive about that).
I love that entire album by Journey except have blocked it a little as um, Open Arms was my mom’s song with my brother’s hockey coach… mmm hmmm. 😀 Oh and I still listen to Depeche Mode quite often!
Okay, we will skip Open Arms! When I met Matt, he loved to wear his Depeche Mode concert t-shirt with a big “DM” on the front. Those were my initials, so it made me smile whenever he wore it.
yow!*
How excellent a post. To weave a narrative into the song list of a life, very cool.
I was (also) trying to find the way to express what you do so well here, that music and the emotions it captures (and, if we’re lucky, preserves) are markers and sign posts; that said, they can also be employed as an organizing rationale. To look at a life with music as a template surely allows insights that might not otherwise be available.
plus you can hum along!
Good post.
*total blog compliment
I’m glad you enjoyed this post, Clark! When I revisited it to edit, I didn’t want to change very much. It’s one of those few posts that I’m content with from the start.
This is a lot of fun. Great songs; keep dancing!
Always, Julia!
A story in songs — I love it! The Stevie Wonder bookends of it are so sweet!
Thanks! I was going to add some more songs, but I liked ending with Stevie.
Dana, I think I’m at that point in my life where everything that is old, is new again. Reading your post was like reading it for the first time! (really!) I’m sure I loved it 4 years ago and love it even more now. Thank you for being YOU!
Love you Mom xoxo
Dana, I absolutely love how you told the story of your life through songs and their lyrics here. Very clever and ingenious. That said, I still enjoy many of the songs on your list, especially anything from the movie, Grease! 🙂
Thanks Janine!
Oh and Always and Forever was one of the first singles I owned on a 45. Ninetees babies wouldn’t even know what that sentence means.
Ha – you are right! That’s sad, and it makes me feel old.
I love this Dana! The songs took me down memory lane. So sweet that your kids know your songs. I wish I’d made music more a part of my life the way my parents did. You know I was lucky enough to find a pair of garden gloves that looked sparkly enough like MJ’s sequined glove! I got it from my great grandmother. I gasped when I saw it, and I just wanted the one glove. I said, “MOM MOM!!! Can I have this?” LOL! In the Eigth grade we went to Washington DC on a field trip and my glove was part of my non matching attire. There were boys who actually had the red jackets that kept asking if they could wear my glove.
I love it that your parents danced to Stevie Wonder at their wedding.
Me too – Stevie is one of the few artists who transcends generations. My parents love him, my kids love him, I love him.