Songs That Help Remember

What would this life be without music? I remember when as a teen I first fell in love; I remember that I had Rehman’s Roza Janeman to keep me company. Later, when I moved to Kerala for my higher education, the years that I spent longing for mom and dad were filled with “Country Roads” by John Denver and “Seasons in the Sun” by Terry Jacks.

Songs help fill the silences in my life. When my mind gets bogged down by unfulfilled aspirations, when what is seems a poor cousin to what was and what could have been, songs help retain my sanity.

Some of my all time favorite songs are songs that feed the fire of some precious memory or the other. Songs have helped me connect; songs have helped me make amends. Songs have helped me tide over losses, celebrate togetherness.

Some time ago I had this somebody in my life who loved ghazals. She loved Jagjit Singh and she would come out with the most beautiful lines from those songs to celebrate some wayward thought. We are no longer together, but Songs remind of the times we spent together.

Last week I heard Clint Black’s “Like the Rain”. I heard the song some twenty times that day. I even shared the link with another friend of mine.  Here are the first few lines from the song:

I never liked the rain until I walked through it with you

Every thunder cloud that came was one more I might not get through

On the darkest day there's always light and now I see it too

But I never liked the rain until I walked through it with you

I hear it falling in the night and filling up my mind

All the heaven's rivers come to light I see it all unwind

I hear it talking through the trees and on the window pane

When I hear it I just can't believe I never liked the rain

Like the rain I have fallen for you and I know just why you

Liked the rain always calling for you I'm falling for you now

Just like the rain

……………..

For those who look forward to filling their silences with songs, I recommend Jango.

Rajesh