Do you ever hear a song that immediately takes you back to a different time and place? I'm not just talking about songs that remind you of junior high. I'm talking about songs that seem to transport you to a completely different year, town, season, etc. The lighting seems to change and so does the temperature and even the scent of the air changes. I'm talking about those sorts of songs.
Whenever I hear "More" by Matthew West, I am walking across Academic Plaza at midnight (or even later) after Upstream on a Thursday night. Upstream is a Bible Study that I used to go to during freshman year. It's only for freshmen and it was awesome! I used to go there with my friend Catherine, but since we were in different Bible study groups, we would finish at different times and we never walked back to our dorm together. To keep myself company on the long walk back to southside from northside, I would put my iPod in and turn up the music. I listened to "More" many times freshman year, but I especially loved it as I walked back to my dorm. I would look up at the sky as Matthew West sung those beautiful words...
I love you more than the sun and the stars
That I taught how to shine
You are Mine
And you shine for Me too
I love you yesterday
And today
And tomorrow
I'll say it again and again
I love you more
It it is amazing to be reminded of the amazing love that God has for us. No matter how alone or small and insignificant I feel, God is not going to let go and He will never forget me. Freshman year was so much fun, but I felt very alone a lot of the time. My family was 5,000 miles away and I only knew one person (Anna!) when I started college. The lyrics to "More" were comforting to me. If you don't know the song, I recommend looking it up to listen to it!
It's no secret that I love John Mayer's music (Austin's not a fan, but that's ok). My favorite song is "3x5". It's probably my favorite song, period. Well, if we're not throwing praise songs into the mix. When I hear that song, I am sitting on top of a hay bale, alone, looking at the sunset over the English countryside in the summertime. I didn't like to take walks very often when I lived in England, but I remember this one walk I had that I really enjoyed.
Didn't have a camera by my side this time
Hoping I would see the world through both my eyes
Maybe I will tell you all about it
When I'm in the mood to lose my way with words
You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes
It brough me back to life
You'll be with me next time I go outside
No more 3x5s
I listened to this song, sitting on that hay bale during summer 2006. It was the last time I was going to be in England for a long time. My family moved back four months later. I guess I was trying to take it all in. There are very few people I know who have experienced that part of my life with me. Austin is not one of those people. No matter how many photographs I show him, he has no way of really knowing what my life was like. Pictures just don't do it justice. Sitting on that hay, I knew that the next time I came back to that spot, I would have him with me (even though I didn't know him then). That day I finally overcame trying to fit the world inside a picture frame. I love that song.
Summer 2007 was another big summer for me. It was the first (and only) summer I took summer school at A&M, and I loved every moment of it. It was also the summer that I met Austin and fell in love (okay, maybe not "fell in love", but I had a crush...). Whenever I listen to Jon McLaughlin's album "Indiana", especially the song "Industry" when I'm driving in my car, I am no longer in Houston/Dallas/wherever. I am in College Station, after class one hot day, with Carolyn in the car, blasting the music, and we are planning something awesome to do for the rest of our day. I loved that summer. I felt so free. We had so much fun hanging out, sharing an apartment, going to Coffee Station and doing completely random things.
Caedmon Call's song "Table for Two" also reminds me of that summer. When I hear it, I am walking across campus one beautiful morning from G. Rollie to Blocker. It was a long walk, and I enjoyed listening to my iPod during the walk. I remember "Table for Two" for some reason. I would be wearing my stretchy pilates pants (I had pilates first, and then statistics), feeling a little self-conscious in such tight clothing, but choosing not to let it wreck my morning. Haha... and then if I was lucky, Austin would be at Blocker waiting for me. Haha.... oh, it's funny to think back to those times. I recently told him about how I felt self-conscious in those pilates pants, but he doesn't even remember them. I'm trying to remember why he was even at Blocker at that time in the morning... I honestly think he just went there to see me. :-)
Wow, it's fun to think of old memories. And those are just a few songs I thought I'd share. Are there any songs that "transport" you to a certain time and place? I would love to hear about them!
-Katie
1 comments:
oh gosh!! there are soo many songs that remind me of soo many things!!
One is "Complicated." Literally takes me back to France driving in a car for seven hours lol.
Another is this song by Jacqi Valesquez "If This World." For some reason it takes me back to when I was like 10 and my mom would drive me to summer track practice. I guess that song is so old, and of course my mom only listened to Christian music on the radio. But it also takes me back to my freshman year when I would walk to track practice. I would listen that song almost everytime....that was a bittersweet difficult year. God brought me comfort through that song :)
I know there are so many more, but those are just a few!
miss you!!
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