Songs I have known

My daughter, Jenni, tagged me with this one.

"Name between 5 to 10 songs that have made an impact on your life. I'll leave it up to you to decide how many you wish to describe." So here goes.

Poor Little Fool - Ricky Nelson - I was 10 or 11 years old and madly in love with little Ricky. (Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. Hi, Dave. Hi, Rick) I would hear this song and fantasize about growing up and being in love, and about growing up and becomming Mrs. Little Ricky.

Heart and Soul/Bye Bye Birdie - by anyone - These songs both remind me of my dad. He and I would bang away on any piano in sight. Heart and Soul - me playing the boogie, woogie chords, him playing the melody. It was a family routine that went on for decades. I even had my kids joining in at one point. Bye Bye Birdie, for some reason, was one of my dad's favorites (this isn't the song from the movie, but the old 40's song). Anytime he'd hear it he had to sing. He would even get up and join the entertainers if he had the chance. That was his song!

My Way - Frank Sinatra - this was my Mom's song. She had a lot of rough times in her life and always felt that at least she could say she did things her way and she was never did anything to hurt people, or anything that she or the rest of us regretted. I could only hope to be half the woman she was. Mom used to say that she wanted us to play My Way and New York, New York at her funeral. But we were too distraught and we forgot. I know she forgives us, but it is one of my major regrets in life.

More (Mondo Cane) - movie theme song - Don't know why this was always one of my favorites, but the first time I saw Mondo Cane in college (late 60's), the sound track grabbed me. Then a couple of singers came out with the English version - More. It has such beautiful words and it was out when I was really falling in love for the first time. So it will always be special to me.

Rainbow Connection - Kermit the Frog - Let me just say this, I loved being a single parent when my kids were between the ages of 5 and 13. Those were great years. We took several short trips around Arizona and to California. During those trips we would sing and one of our favorite songs was Rainbow Connection. There was even a sing-along place in Tucson called The Rainbow Connection and our whole family would go there. When this song came on, the kids and I immediately joined in. I mean, it was OUR song! When my son got married in May of this year, his fiance asked me what song I would like to use for the mother-son dance. You guessed it! Joe almost bailed, but at the end he decided to give the old lady what she wanted. And so we danced. At a couple places in the song, Joe's friends sang the words and I, or course, cried through the whole thing.

Anything Abba - I've loved them since they first came on the scene and their music still makes me want to dance. In the early 90's, I would dance around the house to Abba music as a form of exercies - the kids called it Abbacize. Jenni and I would sing "Waterloo" together, and she used "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" as the song that she walked down the aisle to. Her dad and I walked down the aisle with her - I walked too fast. Partially keeping time with the music, partially in a state of panic! But that one particular Abba song will always bring tears to my eyes remembering a very special day.

I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor - This is my theme song. It came out in the late 70's when my first husband and I were splitting up. I would turn the radio up and sing as loud as I could. Made me feel better and made me realize that I COULD survive! Over the course of my life, there have been other difficult times, but so far I've made it through all of them. Anytime this song starts at a wedding or any place that there is dancing, my husband knows that we WILL be getting up and dancing. Still singing loudly. Still feeling like I will survive.

Amazed - Lonestar - This is a really beautiful song that Ed and I played at our wedding. So it holds a special place in my heart.

That's Who I Am - Jamie O'Neill - A country song that reminds me of my daughter and my mother. It's about a girl who knows who she is and where she stands, and that her friends and family will support her in being the person she wants to be. That's the daughter part. The chorus starts, "I am Rosemarie's grandaughter....." That's the part about my mom whose name was Rosemarie. Jenni is Rosemarie's grandaughter, she knows where she stands, she's strong willed person with high values - and we all love her. Much the same description I could give for my mom.

The end.