A Song for Every Season
I don't know about you, but my life has a definite soundtrack.
I can think of music that coordinates with every single season of my life. Specific songs that take me back in time the moment the first bars are played. Music is probably my most powerful memory hook. In a moment, I'm there, in whatever situation that I've forever linked with that event or person or place.
It goes without saying that I have hundreds of songs on my life soundtrack, so today I'll keep it narrowed down to just my love story.
Every relationship has a soundtrack, so here's ours:
A Wink & A Smile--Harry Connick Jr. This has been "our song" since we were freshmen in highschool and sang it with our choir and later performed it with each other in a vocal ensemble. I've probably listened to this song thousands of times, but it still makes me smile and makes me feel fourteen again. Seth just happens to be a winker.
Any Man of Mine--by Shania Twain. Ok, stick with me here. You know I'm a professed country music hater, but there was a BRIEF time in the mid-nineties when I liked it because Seth liked it and I had a major crush on him. I have an indelible memory of Seth and his brother performing this song exuberantly when it came on the radio. Hilarious. If you knew them, you'd laugh too.
The Other Side of Me--by Michael W. Smith. We sang this to each other in our wedding. Love.
Rebel Heart--by the Corrs. The summer before we got married, we were totally in to the Corrs, an Irish band. This song always reminds me of our trip to Ireland and our wedding.
You're Not Alone--by Meredith Andrews. You know how before you get married, you think you know the person really well? We had dated six years and I felt like I knew Seth better than anybody. I was an expert. But, he surprised me. I knew how he was, but it wasn't until after Thing One was born that I began to discover why he was. During a pretty emotional, growing time, we performed this song in church together, and it was probably one of the best musical moments we ever shared. Not because we performed it awesomely, but because behind the scenes, it really meant something to us. It was personal. The link I included with this one isn't the official video, it's the one we watched over and over while we rehearsed it. So, yeah, it might seem a bit pitchy sometimes because it's a live recording, but...wow. Meredith has pipes.
I'm About to Come Alive--by Train. In 2008, the first in a series of marital difficulties arose, as they are bound to do in any relationship. I remember we had this Train cd, and we were in Florida on vacation, driving to the beach at sunset and this song came on. Seth (as he sometimes does) said "This is my song to you right now." Sniff. At the time, I had no idea how appropriate this song would be.
Oh, My Dear-- byTenth Avenue North. I've said before that Tenth Avenue North writes for my life. Well, in 2010, this album (The Light Meets the Dark) came out at the precise time when things seemed like they were going into the crapper. But, God doesn't write love stories that end up in the crapper. Because of Jesus, and only because of Jesus, our marriage made it. It didn't just survive, it began to thrive. I feel like we really fell in love in 2010. Not romantic love--we'd had that for years. 1 Corinthians 13 love. And nearly every song on this album matched up with what we were going through, but for the sake of time, I just picked one. ;)
The Day Before You--by Matthew West. Okay, I'm almost done with the sobby songs, I promise. At first glance, you might not think this song would fit us. He talks about how he was looking for love, but was just about ready to give up and settle for life without it. We met when we were 13 and 14, so it wasn't like we spent years waiting for our perfect other. But when I hear this song, I think of "before you" being pre-2010. I thought things were ok. I didn't know in reality things were headed down a bad path, and I didn't know how things would one day be more amazing than I could imagine. I feel like there are two versions of us--the people we were before, and the people we are now. And God was preparing us all along to reach this turning point. Does that make any sense? Oh, well, it does to me, and this song makes me blubber. And I would like to point out that Matthew West wrote this song, and I feel like he performs it way better than Rascal Flatts. Humble opinion. This is the only video I could find with his acoustic version, which I prefer, but this one has horrible sound quality and I don't know why there's a moment of random applause. That was weird, video maker.
The second half of 2010 and beyond has been overflowing with "us" music. Here's a sampling:
If It's Love--by Train.
We'll Be A Dream--by We The Kings (Featuring Demi Lovato) There's lots of hair flipping in this video.
Tonight--by Alex Band. I hate his voice, but good song nonetheless.
Love Never Fails--by Brandon Heath
I See the Light--by Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi. Is it acceptable to have a song from a Disney movie move you? I wanna sit in a boat and watch floating lanterns and sing this with Seth. I love this one...even if Mandy Moore irritates me. No offense to Mandy Moore or fans.
Must Have Done Something Right--by Reliant K. Probably a current fave. This would play over the montage of our home life where we're goofing around and playing with the kids and baking cookies and having a flour fight or something. You know how montages are.
What Makes You Beautiful--by One Direction. It pains me to have a song from a poppy boy band on here, but I think it's freaking adorable when Seth sings this to me. And he's young at heart, so I'll allow it. As long as he doesn't start copying One Direction's fashion sense. (Shudder)
Blessings--by Laura Story. After a year of hiatus from publicly singing together, Seth and I closed the door on that chapter by performing this song in church. It's beautiful and relatable, but it was another one of those "behind the scenes" songs that just spoke our story. God is good.
ANYWAY, can you believe this is just a sampling? I totally edited and left a bunch out. What can I say? There's a song for everything. These are just a few of the ones that are part of our story. And I'm sure I forgot some and I'll be hearing from Seth.
So, what about you? What's on the soundtrack of your marriage?
I can think of music that coordinates with every single season of my life. Specific songs that take me back in time the moment the first bars are played. Music is probably my most powerful memory hook. In a moment, I'm there, in whatever situation that I've forever linked with that event or person or place.
It goes without saying that I have hundreds of songs on my life soundtrack, so today I'll keep it narrowed down to just my love story.
Every relationship has a soundtrack, so here's ours:
A Wink & A Smile--Harry Connick Jr. This has been "our song" since we were freshmen in highschool and sang it with our choir and later performed it with each other in a vocal ensemble. I've probably listened to this song thousands of times, but it still makes me smile and makes me feel fourteen again. Seth just happens to be a winker.
Any Man of Mine--by Shania Twain. Ok, stick with me here. You know I'm a professed country music hater, but there was a BRIEF time in the mid-nineties when I liked it because Seth liked it and I had a major crush on him. I have an indelible memory of Seth and his brother performing this song exuberantly when it came on the radio. Hilarious. If you knew them, you'd laugh too.
The Other Side of Me--by Michael W. Smith. We sang this to each other in our wedding. Love.
Rebel Heart--by the Corrs. The summer before we got married, we were totally in to the Corrs, an Irish band. This song always reminds me of our trip to Ireland and our wedding.
You're Not Alone--by Meredith Andrews. You know how before you get married, you think you know the person really well? We had dated six years and I felt like I knew Seth better than anybody. I was an expert. But, he surprised me. I knew how he was, but it wasn't until after Thing One was born that I began to discover why he was. During a pretty emotional, growing time, we performed this song in church together, and it was probably one of the best musical moments we ever shared. Not because we performed it awesomely, but because behind the scenes, it really meant something to us. It was personal. The link I included with this one isn't the official video, it's the one we watched over and over while we rehearsed it. So, yeah, it might seem a bit pitchy sometimes because it's a live recording, but...wow. Meredith has pipes.
I'm About to Come Alive--by Train. In 2008, the first in a series of marital difficulties arose, as they are bound to do in any relationship. I remember we had this Train cd, and we were in Florida on vacation, driving to the beach at sunset and this song came on. Seth (as he sometimes does) said "This is my song to you right now." Sniff. At the time, I had no idea how appropriate this song would be.
Oh, My Dear-- byTenth Avenue North. I've said before that Tenth Avenue North writes for my life. Well, in 2010, this album (The Light Meets the Dark) came out at the precise time when things seemed like they were going into the crapper. But, God doesn't write love stories that end up in the crapper. Because of Jesus, and only because of Jesus, our marriage made it. It didn't just survive, it began to thrive. I feel like we really fell in love in 2010. Not romantic love--we'd had that for years. 1 Corinthians 13 love. And nearly every song on this album matched up with what we were going through, but for the sake of time, I just picked one. ;)
The Day Before You--by Matthew West. Okay, I'm almost done with the sobby songs, I promise. At first glance, you might not think this song would fit us. He talks about how he was looking for love, but was just about ready to give up and settle for life without it. We met when we were 13 and 14, so it wasn't like we spent years waiting for our perfect other. But when I hear this song, I think of "before you" being pre-2010. I thought things were ok. I didn't know in reality things were headed down a bad path, and I didn't know how things would one day be more amazing than I could imagine. I feel like there are two versions of us--the people we were before, and the people we are now. And God was preparing us all along to reach this turning point. Does that make any sense? Oh, well, it does to me, and this song makes me blubber. And I would like to point out that Matthew West wrote this song, and I feel like he performs it way better than Rascal Flatts. Humble opinion. This is the only video I could find with his acoustic version, which I prefer, but this one has horrible sound quality and I don't know why there's a moment of random applause. That was weird, video maker.
The second half of 2010 and beyond has been overflowing with "us" music. Here's a sampling:
If It's Love--by Train.
We'll Be A Dream--by We The Kings (Featuring Demi Lovato) There's lots of hair flipping in this video.
Tonight--by Alex Band. I hate his voice, but good song nonetheless.
Love Never Fails--by Brandon Heath
I See the Light--by Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi. Is it acceptable to have a song from a Disney movie move you? I wanna sit in a boat and watch floating lanterns and sing this with Seth. I love this one...even if Mandy Moore irritates me. No offense to Mandy Moore or fans.
Must Have Done Something Right--by Reliant K. Probably a current fave. This would play over the montage of our home life where we're goofing around and playing with the kids and baking cookies and having a flour fight or something. You know how montages are.
What Makes You Beautiful--by One Direction. It pains me to have a song from a poppy boy band on here, but I think it's freaking adorable when Seth sings this to me. And he's young at heart, so I'll allow it. As long as he doesn't start copying One Direction's fashion sense. (Shudder)
Blessings--by Laura Story. After a year of hiatus from publicly singing together, Seth and I closed the door on that chapter by performing this song in church. It's beautiful and relatable, but it was another one of those "behind the scenes" songs that just spoke our story. God is good.
ANYWAY, can you believe this is just a sampling? I totally edited and left a bunch out. What can I say? There's a song for everything. These are just a few of the ones that are part of our story. And I'm sure I forgot some and I'll be hearing from Seth.
So, what about you? What's on the soundtrack of your marriage?
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