Music and Memory
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Our First Dance © Distinct Photography |
Ever notice how music can evoke memory and feeling like almost nothing else? If your love life is in the dumps the right song can plunge you deeper into despair. If you are flying on the highway and the right song plays on the radio you may find that your foot suddenly turns to lead and if you’re not careful you’ll end up with a speeding ticket. Songs can remind you of movies, experiences, people, feelings, and all sorts of other things.
Music can influence your current mood and I find this useful when I’m writing something particularly emotional. Try this: Pick a song or a group of songs with a similar mood. Play them on a loop while you write a scene. See how it influences your mood. I’ve done this a number of times when I just wasn’t feeling it and the songs made a difference.
David and I were married 2 wonderful months ago. Below is our wedding soundtrack. #1 is our song and we danced our first dance to it. #2 is one of my favorite songs and we danced our second dance to it. The rest are in no particular order. They are a mixture of our favorite songs. Some were my picks, some were David’s, and some we chose together. They were each selected for one reason or another. I took the song list pretty seriously. These were all songs that I would be happy to associate with specific moments of our wedding.
So what are some of your song/memory combinations?
Our Wedding Song List
1. It Had To Be You- Frank Sinatra
2. Into The Mystic- Van Morrison
3. As Time Goes By- Louis Armstrong
4. A Kiss to Build a Dream On- Louis Armstrong
5. Someone Like You- Van Morrison
6. Have I Told You Lately- Van Morrison
7. Crazy love -Van Morrison
8. Dream a little dream of me- Louis Armstrong
9. Beyond the Sea Lyrics- Bobby Darin
10. Three Little Birds- Bob Marley
11. Wouldn’t It Be Nice- Beach Boys
12. You Give Me Fever- Peggy Lee
13. Walk Like An Egyptian – The Bangles
14. More than Words- Extreme
15. I’ll Stand By You- The Pretenders
16. Unchained Melody - The Righteous Brothers
17. Don’t Know Much- Aaron Nevil
18. Something- The Beatles
19. My Girl- The Temptations
20. When a Man Loves A Woman- Percy Sledge
21. Brown Eyed Girl- Van Morrison
22. These Foolish Things- Deinah Washington
23. The Very Thought of You- Tony Bennett
24. Sway- Rosemary Clooney
25. Forever Young- By Alphaville
26. I only have eyes for you- The Flamingos
27. 99 Luftballons- NENA
28. Kiss- Prince
29. Tainted Love- Soft Cell
30. Unforgettable- Nat King Cole
31. Let’s Get it on- Marvin Gaye
32. These Arms of Mine- Otis Redding
33. I’ve Been Loving You Too Long- Otis Redding
34. Signed, Sealed, Delivered- Stevie Wonder
35. Midnight Special- CCR
36. Layla- Derrick and the Dominos
37. Close To You- The Carpenters
38. Time in a bottle- Jim Croche
39. Swinging On A Star- Frank Sinatra
40. Dancing in the Moonlight- King Harvest
41. If Yesterday Could only Be Tomorrow- Tony Bennett
42. Afternoon Delight -Will Ferrell (Anchorman Soundtrack)
43. The Way You Look Tonight- Eric Clapton
44. Time after Time- Cindy Lauper
45. You Send Me- Sam Cooke
46. Let Me Call You Sweetheart- Patti Page
47. Danny’s Song- Kenny Loggins
48. Come Fly With Me- Sinatra
49. Memories Are Made Of This- Dean Martin
50. Ain’t That a Kick in the Head- Dean Martin
25. Forever Young- By Alphaville
26. I only have eyes for you- The Flamingos
27. 99 Luftballons- NENA
28. Kiss- Prince
29. Tainted Love- Soft Cell
30. Unforgettable- Nat King Cole
31. Let’s Get it on- Marvin Gaye
32. These Arms of Mine- Otis Redding
33. I’ve Been Loving You Too Long- Otis Redding
34. Signed, Sealed, Delivered- Stevie Wonder
35. Midnight Special- CCR
36. Layla- Derrick and the Dominos
37. Close To You- The Carpenters
38. Time in a bottle- Jim Croche
39. Swinging On A Star- Frank Sinatra
40. Dancing in the Moonlight- King Harvest
41. If Yesterday Could only Be Tomorrow- Tony Bennett
42. Afternoon Delight -Will Ferrell (Anchorman Soundtrack)
43. The Way You Look Tonight- Eric Clapton
44. Time after Time- Cindy Lauper
45. You Send Me- Sam Cooke
46. Let Me Call You Sweetheart- Patti Page
47. Danny’s Song- Kenny Loggins
48. Come Fly With Me- Sinatra
49. Memories Are Made Of This- Dean Martin
50. Ain’t That a Kick in the Head- Dean Martin
Congratulations on your wedding! what a great photo!
ReplyDelete"If you are flying on the highway and the right song plays on the radio you may find that your foot suddenly turns to lead and if you’re not careful you’ll end up with a speeding ticket."
ReplyDeleteMy one and only speeding ticket..the day I was zipping back home after picking out my wedding gown. Yes, the Doors, "Light My Fire" was blasting on the radio of my G.T.O. and the pedal was to the metal. My explanation to the NYC police officer didn't persuade him to have mercy on me; 65 in a 30 mph was scrawled on a ticket and shoved in my face along with "Have a nice day."
Congratulations on your marriage and thanks for a terrific post!
Great list! When we were married about eight years ago, I took the song list very seriously as well. We made a CD and gave one to everyone and people still comment on it.
ReplyDeleteA sampling...
Amazing Grace - Aideen O'Brien
Come Away with Me - Norah Jones
Chapel of Love - The Dixie Cups
Sixty Four - Beatles
Forever and Every Amen - Randy Travis
Amazed - Lonestar
Fishing in the Dark - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
...so much fun!
Hoping by from the Dare to SHare Link. Our first son some 12 years ago was Night and Day and to this day I still get goose bumps when I hear it. I love the way a song can make you knees go all soft or bring a lump to your throat! Those kind of emotions remind you that you are still alive!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to you and your Love! May the happiest days of your past be the saddest days of your future!
What a great playlist!!! I especially love "Three Little Birds"...that was on our wedding playlist and is our song. *sigh* And I agree completely! Songs can evoke many and varying emotions and can really come in handy when writing.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your wedding! And thanks so much for linking up :)
@Allison Thank you!
ReplyDelete@Patty Yep, that sounds like an officer. They just don’t seem to understand. And thank you for the congratulations.
@Kelly Thanks, glad you liked it. Nice list!
@Sharon That’s a lovely song and Thank you!
@Katie Three Little Birds was David’s pick. It’s one of his favorite songs and now it’s one of mine. Thank you!
First of all....Congratulations! What an exciting time of life. Enjoy every minute.
ReplyDeleteSecondly...I have to go now and dig out a bunch of old cds that I haven't listened to in far too long!