There's Magic in Music

published September 30, 2010

in the Stockton Sentinel, 

Stockton, Kansas

     How is it that a song can bring back vivid memories of exactly who you were with, where you were, and what you were doing? You can even feel the old emotions you felt back then, perhaps when you first heard the song. It's just weird. Why and how do you suppose that happens? I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday, or what I did last Sunday afternoon, but I can remember exactly what song was playing when I got into my car to try driving home after coming out of a storm tunnel on March 13, 1990 -- the day a tornado ripped the town of Hesston apart. I can't remember what I played for a prelude or offertory in church last Sunday, but I know what I played the Sunday after September 11, 2001.
     There is something magical about what music does to us and for us. Music can either soothe or excite, empower or subdue. Even though you may not be aware of it happening, there is a strong possibility that a certain song will evoke a special memory. Some of us oldies like the oldies radio stations for the very reason that the music brings back memories of "the good ol' days."
     In many ways, music serves as an autobiography of our lives. It may be a song from your high school prom or graduation, a song played at your wedding or the funeral of a loved one, or a song played on the radio the day of a tragic incident in your life -- each one serves as the title of a chapter in your life story. And hearing the song again, whether in your mind or in your ears, brings back not only the memory of that event, but also the emotions.
     On a lighter note (no pun intended), from now on, every time I hear Kenny Chesney's "The Boys of Fall," I will think of football season in the fall of 2010, and the Stockton High School Tigers. "You mess with one man, you got us all -- the boys of fall."