Lately, I have been listening to two songs again and again, “Seven Spanish Angels” by Willie Nelson and Ray Charles and “The Highwayman” by Waylon, Willie and The Boys. The nostalgia overwhelms me with names, faces and sounds. The sound of steel guitars crying in the background makes me smile as I am flooded with memories of long ago, of faces that are gone now, and flashes of scenes playing like a broken movie.
I remember listening to now classics or ‘oldies’ on a Reel to Reel player at Nanny and Granddaddy’s. I don’t remember all the songs or singers, and I’m not sure that is the point. Instead, the flashes are of building card houses in the carpet, learning how to build London Bridge out of dominoes, and many games of Solitaire where the goal was to “beat the man.” (By the way ~ I never have learned who the man was.) But somewhere in the midst of all of this is the music.
For this particular music, there are two people who stand out playing a role in my appreciation of these classics, Nanny and my sister, Deanna. I was introduced to not only Waylon, Willie and The Boys, but also The Gambler or Kenny Rogers, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, Jim Reeves, Marty Robbins and many others. While these singers are probably met with varying degrees of appreciation, they have made their way into my life and now make me smile.
My sister and I used to share a room and while not all memories are pleasant (like getting pinched in the middle of the night ~ hey, I’m a cuddler!), there are some that will always be special. I am not sure she ever really wanted to, but she used to read to me the short stories from Reader’s Digest and if music was playing, she was singing, especially if it was a ballad. I have many memories of her crying and singing. Remember, Sis, the ballad of Teddy and the truckers?
For my Nanny, I remember a different form and time. The memories maybe fuzzy, but I remember names of Aunt Clara, Aunt Leona, Cat & Pawpaw, Aunt Ruby, Uncle Aaron and Aunt Elsie, and others. I remember the sound of hymns of old, like How Great Thou Art, being sung around a piano or acapella. I am amazed at how as a child I might not have understood or appreciated all going on around me, but as an adult a song can transport me back and make my eyes sting with tears, my lips smile and my voice sing out to the same tunes.
I am not sure what makes me so nostalgic now. Maybe it is just the music, the holidays, being pregnant and hormonal, or being a mom myself. But I share this and some music with my Nanny and sister in hopes of making them smile and remember their own sweet memories, but also to say Thank You. Thank you for playing a role in my appreciation of various types of music and more importantly my memories.
As I listen to “The Highwayman” and think of these things, my own Little One has brought me her music. It is of a little dog on a sled singing, rather loudly, “Sleigh Ride with You.” She plays it over my song and my memories fade into the background once more, but a new memory is forming for me and for her as we sing and dance to her ‘music.’ It is a moment I treasure and my prayers and hopes for her is that she too will have memories to look back on that are filled with music, laughter and even tears.
Merry Christmas! Enjoy the music and trip down memory lane. I may not be there with you, but then again we are together in the memories. I love you much.
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