Music – that changed the way I think…

This is not a list of my favourite songs…, it’s a short list of the songs that mean something important to me. Is the order important? Maybe…, maybe not,… does it matter…

Each song brings tears to my eyes… tears of joy, tears of sorrow, tears of rage, tears of frustration,… and just tears for the moments lost and never to be found again…

My Monique loved rock & roll from the 50s and 60s, and the disco music from the 70s and 80s (Michael Jackson, et.al.). She enjoyed dancing. Together we learned square dancing, and later ballroom dancing, but nothing could convince my two left feet to work harmoniously together. When I occasionally appeared in her diaries it was often accompanied with a comment about my dancing skills, or lack off.

I personally appreciate the strong messages carried by songs such as Imagine by John Lennon, Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones, and the first lines of Bob Dylan’s Shelter from the Storm …

I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of formCome in, she saidI’ll give ya shelter from the storm

But the songs listed below, Oh, Pretty Woman, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and You Are So Beautiful, captures my love for the most beautiful woman I ever met.

Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood tells my story and how I tried to be good husband, lover, friend, not always successfully. But I tried as hard as I could, and I know Monique understood that. And I know I should have tried harder.

I can’t explain why I always found In The End powerfully intriguing. Only when Monique passed away did those final lyrics make sense …

Time is a valuable thingWatch it fly by as the pendulum swingsWatch it count down to the end of the dayThe clock ticks life away .. .

And I have lived through my whole life with that one-liner from My Generation …

I hope I die before I get old

Nothing more, nothing less, full stop.

Oh, Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison

Pretty woman walkin’ down the streetPretty woman, the kind I’d like to meet Pretty woman, I don’t believe you, you’re not the truthNo one could look as good as you

Pretty woman, stop awhilePretty woman, talk awhilePretty woman, give your smile to me

What do I see?Is she walkin’ back to me?Yeah, she’s walkin’ back to meOh, oh, pretty woman

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack

The first time ever I saw your faceI thought the sun rose in your eyesAnd the moon and the stars were the gifts you gaveTo the dark and the endless skies, my loveTo the dark and the endless skies

And the first time ever I kissed your mouthI felt the earth move in my handLike the trembling heart of a captive birdThat was there at my command, my loveThat was there at my command, my love

And the first time ever I lay with youI felt your heart so close to mineAnd I knew our joy would fill the earthAnd last ’til the end of time my loveAnd it would last ’til the end of time

The first time ever I saw your faceYour face, your face, your face

You Are So Beautiful - Joe Cocker

You are so beautifulTo meYou are so beautifulTo meCan’t you seeYou’re everything I hoped forYou’re everything I needYou are so beautifulTo me

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone

Baby, can you understand me now?Sometimes I get a little madDon’t you know, no one alive can always be an angelWhen things go wrong, I seem to go bad

I’m just a soul whose intentions are goodOh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood

Yeah, baby, sometimes I’m so carefreeWith a joy that’s hard to hideYeah, and other times it seems thatAll I ever have is worryAnd then you’re bound to see my other side

Oh, I’m just a soul whose intentions are goodOh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood

Well If I get edgy, I want you to knowI never mean to take it out on youLife has its problems, I get more than my shareBut there’s one thing that I would never do

Oh, I’m just a soul whose intentions are goodOh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood

Well If I get edgy, I want you to knowI never mean to take it out on youLife has its problems, I get more than my shareBut there’s one thing that I would never do‘Cause I love youOh

Oh, now don’t you know I’m humanI got my faults just like anyoneAnd sometimes I lie awake, alone, regrettingSome foolish thing, some sinful thing I’ve done

I’m just a soul whose intentions are goodOh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstoodI said, I’m just a soul whose intentions are goodOh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstoodOh, I’m just a soul whose intentions are goodOh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood

In The End - Linkin Park

Time is a valuable thingWatch it fly by as the pendulum swingsWatch it count down to the end of the dayThe clock ticks life awayIt’s so unrealYou didn’t look out belowWatch the time go right out the windowTryin’ to hold on, they didn’t even knowI wasted it all just to watch you goI kept everything insideAnd even though I tried, it all fell apartWhat it meant to me will eventually be a memoryOf a time when I tried so hard