As I get older I am realizing how much the music I listened to (and still do in many cases) reflects my point of view at that time.
The first song I remember hearing was Suil A Ruin
.
I don’t remember who was singing it, and my Mom denies knowing the song, although she confirms singing other songs out of my childhood, such as Tom Dooley ,
or Motherless Child
I remember occasionally hearing Grandad sing, although it was usually when no one was around.
A couple of the songs he liked were:
Red Haired Mary
I’m my own Grandpa
The first commercial song I remember really liking was “The Unicorn”
I was maybe 4 years old when I heard it, and my Mom indulged me by buying the album.
I listed to the rest of the songs, and many of them stick in my mind to this day because of their beauty.
When I was about 4 or 5 Mom married George the 1st. George the 1st didn’t allow “modern” music in the house, much of what he played was big band music that left me flat.
However I do remember some favorites from the years Mom was married to him, including :
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy Of Company B
Chattanooga Choo Choo
and 16 Tons
As well as old Folk Music favorite Ol’ Blue
I first heard “modern” music (meaning current for then) in 1976.
I didn’t really know what to make of most Rock and Country songs back then, but a few songs caught my attention almost right away.
Many of them were a few years old by then, but to me the music of the ’60s and early ’70s happened almost at one time due to my sheltered upbringing.
Some of these songs were:
Tell Laura I Love Her:
Desperado
Billy Don’t be a Hero
The Night Chicago Died
Soon after moving to Oklahoma Mom met and married Red.
Red was a pretty easygoing guy, with a wide taste in music. He soon turned me on to several groups and musicians.
Some of the songs I remember listening to with him were:
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
Tales of Brave Ulysses
Going to California
Shannon
Wildfire:
I was behind the times as far as music goes, and it showed. When I was in 8th grade a girl I went to school with asked me what my favorite band was. I replied “The Irish Rovers” she laughed at me, but I still love their music to this day.
Mom divorced Red, but I still consider him and his family kin. I have lost touch with them over the years, and I deeply regret it.
When my uncle and cousin were murdered these songs kept coming to my mind:
Stairway to Heaven
Live and Let Die
Let it Be
Yesterday
When I was in 9th grade I met Big Bill, who would rapidly become one of my best friends. We had similar taste in music, and he turned me on to lots of great songs, including:
Iron Man:
McArthur’s Park:
All Dead, All Dead
and 99 Luft Baloons:
When I turned 17 I joined the Army. It really helped to broaden my musical horizons.I became exposed to stuff that hadn’t really made it’s way to Oklahoma yet like Punk Rock and New Wave.
Some of the songs I first heard when I was in the Army included:
Military Rap:
Close Your Eyes:
Bad Reputation
When I was living in Galveston there wasn’t much Rock music, so I learned to love (some) country music. Here’s some from back then:
A Country Boy Can Survive:
Cherokee Fiddle:
During my second enlistment I became involved with the S.C.A. . This helped me find access to Celtic music, which I had loved since my earliest years.
If you haven’t noticed I always loved ballads, and the Irish are masters of the form.
In fact most traditional Irish songs are ballads.
Some of the songs I remember finding during this time period were:
Boys of Bedlam
The Limerick Rake
Seven Drunken Nights
Piano Man
Return to Pooh Corner
After I got out of the Army I drifted around Florida for a while, and I was exposed to a lot of cultures I have never encountered before. I had heard Reggie music before, but not much. However when I lived in the Keys I learned to love it. Especially Bob Marley (and later his kids) work.
A couple of my favorites are:
Redemption song.
Buffalo Soldier
Other songs that stand out from the first time I lived in Florida are:
Patience
Mony Mony
Love Shack
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Eventually we (Laura and I) moved to Hot Springs.
When she left me and moved back to Florida these songs kept running through my mind:
Fire and Rain
Objects in the Rear-view Mirror
Wasted Time
Wild World
A few years later a friend needed a place to stay. He introduced me to his step-dad Mike.
Mike turned me on to quite a bit of Native American Folk music. Some of my favorites are:
Reservation Road
Blow Dakota Blow
Patriot
Eventually my health went downhill and I had to move to Florida. I really missed Hot Springs, and this song kept sticking in my mind.
Caledonia
Another song I first heard while living there was Johnny’s Ghost.
A few years ago I moved back to Hot Springs.
Now I find myself quickly closing in on fifty, and have been down with heart problems most of this year. Somehow the old song Night Moves seems more poignant than ever.
I woke last night to the sound of thunder..How far off I sat and wondered…Strange how the night moves, with autumn closing in…
