Cultured Views

Songs From Life

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Music, to me, is an extremely evocative thing. And it represents so many things to all of us, there would be very few people who did not have a particular tune or song that mean’t something to them. That reminded them of some aspect of their life or took them back to a ‘place’ in life that held significance for them. 

I grew up in a household of music so it has always been there in the background for me…my Dad was a violinist and Mum played the piano and sang in choirs. Dad had a huge collection of jazz records; Count Basie, Ella, Vic Damone (his favourite singer), Perry Como (his other favourite); you name it, Dad owned it.  And as long as I can remember I listened along with him. I worked out as soon as I could stand how to put a record on the player and lower the needle carefully onto the disc.  And I would sit on the floor with my ear against the speaker. Probably not good for the eardrum according to todays ‘experts’.

When I was about 2 I had my very first ‘favourite’…”John Gary Sings Christmas Songs” and I absolutely loved this mans voice. The song I particularly liked was “The Christmas Song”, you know, ‘chestnuts roasting on an open fire, jack frost nipping at your nose…’. I only have to hear this song nowadays and it takes me back to those early years. The first song that ever made me cry was also on that album…”Little Snow Girl” and it still puts a lump in my throat whenever I hear it.

Over the coming years many songs were to mark certain stages in my life. In the 1970’s it was Sherbert; Hush; I was mad keen on the musical ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’; and will put my hand up and admit to being a Bay City Roller fan ( I was convinced I was was going to marry Eric one day). Seeing them in concert in Sydney at the Hordern Pavilion in 1976 was a highlight for me, even though you couldn’t hear a thing over the screams!. Of course, like many ‘Roller’ fans I was a closet Abba fan as well. We just hated to admit it because Abba constantly kept our tartan sweethearts off the number one spot on the charts. In 1980 I indulged in my very last teen crush when I heard “Ant Music” by Adam and the Ants…but their Sydney concert in 1981 was absolute rubbish. So it was time to move on…

In the 80’s there were certain Elton John songs that will always stay with me. In 1982 two major happenings occurred to me; I joined the Army and my Dad was hit by an illness from which he never fully recovered.  Elton’s ‘Blue Eyes’ takes me back to Bardia Barracks in May ‘82 and Bertie Higgens ‘Key Largo’ takes me back to when I sat at my Dads bedside in Royal North Shore Hospital willing him to get well. As the 80’s took me through my twenties songs like Mondo Rock’s ‘Come said the Boy’, ‘The Boys of Summer’, John Farnham’s ‘You’re the Voice’, Toto’s ‘Africa’ all provided a backdrop to events in my life.

In the 90’s my tastes became more discerning. I became an opera buff after seeing The Three Tenors concert in 1990 (on video, not in Rome). Over the next few years classical music became both an obsession and a support for me, and it provided also a new direction in my life when I took up music studies in violin and viola and turned professional. Music often provided solace to me during those times when some aspects of life were quite difficult.

These days it is a treat to be able to sit, close my eyes and enjoy a CD, but that is what music should be…a treat. It’s good to know it is one thing that will always be there, just like good ol’ Elton so it seems.

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