Time for a change of pace in this music series. To date I have concentrated primarily on Classical music. Don’t get me wrong, I love Classical music and have played it on the piano for most of my Life. However, for the ability to convey pure human emotion, nothing beats some popular music. The primary reason for this unique ability to convey emotion is the lyrics powered by the human voice. While the song I have chosen may not be Great Music by conventional standards, it’s impact on a person hearing it can be Great.
Today, I want to introduce a song by singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile. The first time I heard this song, I burst into tears as memories and emotions overwhelmed me. My own situation as a child was probably similar to many – bullies taking advantage of another person. Because I had polio as a child and could not run like other children, I was an easy target for bullies and suffered greatly at their hands.
I remember one situation as a 11 year old. I was riding my bike to my piano lesson and suddenly a rope was stretched across the road and It knocked me off my bike. The kids who fashioned this rope barrier suddenly appeared and one hopped on by bike and took off as did the rest of the kids. I walked to my piano lesson in tears and went in to see Joan Elander,my teacher. After she gave me Kleenex to dry my tears, I told her the story of what happened to me. She took her hand and lifted my chin up and said “ Use your F@#king brain and those kids will mean nothing to you in your Life”. I was shocked at her language, never having heard adults use such words but it did have its desired effect – I NEVER forgot her advice.
So when I heard this song by Brandi Carlise, I thought about my youth and how I got up, dusted myself off, and then charged into Life, as my piano teacher said using my brains not my body to succeed. While my personal situation might be somewhat dramatic, everyone has encountered difficulties whether at the hands of bullies or just the ups and downs and unfairness of some of Life. When you get up and get going again, the Joke is on everyone else, not you. As I have found out, all those tough kids in my youth never went anywhere in their adult lives, so the Joke was, indeed, on them. I’ll bet, all of you can look back at your lives, whether male or female, and find a situation where the joke was on them or him.