What Is Your Song?

Sometimes, I listen to soundtracks. No lyrics, no voices. Just pure music.

And here is the question I get asked so often: why?

Why? Because: It is the music, the notes that impact me. It is the melody, the harmony, working in perfect syncopation to create something so full and beauteous that I can't even describe it properly. Have you ever noticed that music is the one thing in the world that everyone can at least stand? I've never heard one person say "I hate music." Sure, we all have different tastes in music, but we all know music. We all get pleasure from at least one song in our lives.

What is your song?

I have many songs. Usually, my specific taste is on the alternative side, with violins and a unique melody. However, I do occasionally dapple in the world of pop and hip-hop. And soundtracks. I'm the only person I know who loves listening to soundtracks.

But what is it about music that raises such feelings within me? What is it that touches my heart and makes me imagine world after world, none the same as the last? Maybe it's the bells ringing, banging against each other to echo across the fields and pastures. Maybe it's the violin strings plucking gently one after another, lifting me up and carrying me towards a clear, running stream hidden between the trees. Or maybe it's the drums beating like a pulse, driving me, pushing me, onwards. Onwards and Upwards.

Some of my favorite music is music that I listen to over and over again. It never gets old. I know all the lyrics (if there are any), and I can hum the entire song to myself without a second thought. As dumb and cliche as it may sound, the songs have become a part of me. I spend so much of my time listening to them, admiring their simplistic beauty, that I know them just as well as I know my own hand. And I am positive it is the same for many others. Think for a second: is there any particular song that reminds you of a time in your life? What is that tune that carries you back, or drives you forward?

My song is the collection of soundtracks that remind me of the shows I used to watch as a child; an assembly of the music I've heard in movies that deeply impacted me. It is a mishmash of beats I've collected on my iPod, or of pieces that remind me of family members, living and deceased. I do not have one song; I have many.

What is your song?