If you read my post, "Road Trip Reflections" you know that I listened to some older albums on my road trip to St. Louis. One thing I meant to put in that post, but forgot to, is how listening to those songs brought back memories of when they first came out. I considered going back and adding that point, but I decided not to because those songs aren't the only ones that are reminders of my past, either because of what was happening in my life when I first heard the song, a past event that I was reminded of the first time I heard the song, or what happened after I knew the song well that drove me to the comfort the song provided. Most of the time, the memories are positive, but there are a few that bring back bad memories. Here are some of the songs that take me back, starting with some I listened to on my trip.
Steven Curtis Chapman-"Fingerprints of God"
This song originally came out in 1999, but when it really started speaking to me was two years later. At that point, I was a chubby 13-year-old with glasses and a bad haircut. I did not feel beautiful in any sense of the word, so a catchy tune about being a "living, breathing, priceless work of art" was perfectly timed. He actually wrote this song for his own daughter when she was 13, so the fact that I connected with it makes sense. The struggle of teen girls to feel beautiful is fairly universal, so while it was written for one specific teenage girl, it feels like it was written for all of them. Even now, at 30 years old, there are times when I need to be reminded of just how beautiful I am in God's eyes, and just like it did 17 years ago, this song reminds me.
Steven Curtis Chapman-"Magnificent Obsession"
This song came out in 2001, but became really important to me in 2004, when I was 16. My post "Life>Death" chronicles how at that point in my life, I had a bit of a different obsession: taking my own life. This song was one that I used in rebuilding myself after that dark time. I wanted to become as focused on God as I had been on my plan to end my life. I'd love to say that it worked perfectly, but alas, it did not. There are still sometimes now when I need a reminder, and this song provides that for me, just as it did 14 years ago.
MercyMe-"I Can Only Imagine"
This is another song that came out in 2001 but took on new meaning for me after Grandma's death in 2004. While I was sad that I had lost her, I was glad that she would no longer have to imagine what Heaven was like. One day I will join her, and then I won't have to imagine either.
MercyMe-"Homesick"
This song came out in 2004, not long after Grandma had died, and from the moment I first heard it, I felt like I could have written it. This song talks about how, as Christians, we know our loved ones are safe in Heaven, but we mourn the fact that they are no longer with us, and we yearn for the day that we will be reunited. This song has brought me comfort at other times when I have lost someone I loved, and I have shared it with friends who have lost loved ones as well. I'm still homesick, but I look forward to the day when I won't have to be anymore.
Zoegirl-"Scream"
The very first time I heard this song was at a Zoegirl concert on April 29, 2005. Prior to performing it, Alisa Girard, one of the members of the group, talked about her struggles with depression the previous year, which was the exact same time I was struggling. She said that though her mind wanted her to do something destructive, she felt God calling her to do something constructive, and so she wrote this song. Hearing this song and her testimony was the first time I felt like I wasn't the only one who faced this struggle, and it gave me hope that the struggle would not end up defining me.
Sidewalk Prophets-"The Words I Would Say"
This song came out in 2009, five years after Grandma had died, but from the very first time I heard it, I felt like those were the words she would say to me had she still been alive. Every time I hear it, I feel great comfort knowing that God used Sidewalk Prophets to help Grandma send me a message from beyond the grave.
Jonny Diaz-"More Beautiful You"
This song came out in 2009, when I was 21. Each verse is directed at a young lady at two different ages: 14 and 21. This song not only spoke to the insecurities I had as a teenager, but also some insecurities I still faced at the time it came out.
Avalon-"Testify to Love"
I first heard this song at a concert in 1998, and it changed my life significantly. I grew up in the church, but it wasn't until I heard this song that I really became a Christian. Prior to this concert, I didn't want to listen to any Christian music, and my parents practically had to drag me to the concert. Considering the result, I am very glad that they did.
Michael W. Smith-"This is Your Time"
This song was written for the funeral of Cassie Bernall, who became a household name after refusing to deny her faith in the face of certain death during the Columbine massacre on April 20, 1999. Following the shooting, I spent a lot of time thinking about what I would do in a similar situation, a question no 5th grader in America should have to consider. This song asks that very question, and it helped empower me to know that my answer would be yes. Any other answer would be a denial of who I am, and I am more sure of that answer now than I was then.
Matt Mahar-"Hold Us Together"
This is the only song that brings back negative memories.This song came on the radio while I was driving to church in January 2011. At that time, my bank account held only half of the money I would need to pay my electricity bill. The opening line is "It don't have a job, won't pay your bills," and frankly, I didn't care to listen to any more after that. That is no way to begin a song about the hope of Christ, who, by the way, isn't even mentioned in the song. I am glad that it has been long enough since this song has come out that it is no longer played on the radio anymore. This song is one of the reasons that I dislike the worship genre of music, which I describe more in my post "Worship Music."
These are not the only songs I have heard that bring back memories, but these are the ones that bring them back every single time I listen to them. Do you have any songs that bring back memories in your life? I would love to hear about them in the comments.
Steven Curtis Chapman-"Fingerprints of God"
This song originally came out in 1999, but when it really started speaking to me was two years later. At that point, I was a chubby 13-year-old with glasses and a bad haircut. I did not feel beautiful in any sense of the word, so a catchy tune about being a "living, breathing, priceless work of art" was perfectly timed. He actually wrote this song for his own daughter when she was 13, so the fact that I connected with it makes sense. The struggle of teen girls to feel beautiful is fairly universal, so while it was written for one specific teenage girl, it feels like it was written for all of them. Even now, at 30 years old, there are times when I need to be reminded of just how beautiful I am in God's eyes, and just like it did 17 years ago, this song reminds me.
Steven Curtis Chapman-"Magnificent Obsession"
This song came out in 2001, but became really important to me in 2004, when I was 16. My post "Life>Death" chronicles how at that point in my life, I had a bit of a different obsession: taking my own life. This song was one that I used in rebuilding myself after that dark time. I wanted to become as focused on God as I had been on my plan to end my life. I'd love to say that it worked perfectly, but alas, it did not. There are still sometimes now when I need a reminder, and this song provides that for me, just as it did 14 years ago.
MercyMe-"I Can Only Imagine"
This is another song that came out in 2001 but took on new meaning for me after Grandma's death in 2004. While I was sad that I had lost her, I was glad that she would no longer have to imagine what Heaven was like. One day I will join her, and then I won't have to imagine either.
MercyMe-"Homesick"
This song came out in 2004, not long after Grandma had died, and from the moment I first heard it, I felt like I could have written it. This song talks about how, as Christians, we know our loved ones are safe in Heaven, but we mourn the fact that they are no longer with us, and we yearn for the day that we will be reunited. This song has brought me comfort at other times when I have lost someone I loved, and I have shared it with friends who have lost loved ones as well. I'm still homesick, but I look forward to the day when I won't have to be anymore.
Zoegirl-"Scream"
The very first time I heard this song was at a Zoegirl concert on April 29, 2005. Prior to performing it, Alisa Girard, one of the members of the group, talked about her struggles with depression the previous year, which was the exact same time I was struggling. She said that though her mind wanted her to do something destructive, she felt God calling her to do something constructive, and so she wrote this song. Hearing this song and her testimony was the first time I felt like I wasn't the only one who faced this struggle, and it gave me hope that the struggle would not end up defining me.
Sidewalk Prophets-"The Words I Would Say"
This song came out in 2009, five years after Grandma had died, but from the very first time I heard it, I felt like those were the words she would say to me had she still been alive. Every time I hear it, I feel great comfort knowing that God used Sidewalk Prophets to help Grandma send me a message from beyond the grave.
This song came out in 2009, when I was 21. Each verse is directed at a young lady at two different ages: 14 and 21. This song not only spoke to the insecurities I had as a teenager, but also some insecurities I still faced at the time it came out.
Avalon-"Testify to Love"
I first heard this song at a concert in 1998, and it changed my life significantly. I grew up in the church, but it wasn't until I heard this song that I really became a Christian. Prior to this concert, I didn't want to listen to any Christian music, and my parents practically had to drag me to the concert. Considering the result, I am very glad that they did.
Michael W. Smith-"This is Your Time"
This song was written for the funeral of Cassie Bernall, who became a household name after refusing to deny her faith in the face of certain death during the Columbine massacre on April 20, 1999. Following the shooting, I spent a lot of time thinking about what I would do in a similar situation, a question no 5th grader in America should have to consider. This song asks that very question, and it helped empower me to know that my answer would be yes. Any other answer would be a denial of who I am, and I am more sure of that answer now than I was then.
Matt Mahar-"Hold Us Together"
This is the only song that brings back negative memories.This song came on the radio while I was driving to church in January 2011. At that time, my bank account held only half of the money I would need to pay my electricity bill. The opening line is "It don't have a job, won't pay your bills," and frankly, I didn't care to listen to any more after that. That is no way to begin a song about the hope of Christ, who, by the way, isn't even mentioned in the song. I am glad that it has been long enough since this song has come out that it is no longer played on the radio anymore. This song is one of the reasons that I dislike the worship genre of music, which I describe more in my post "Worship Music."
These are not the only songs I have heard that bring back memories, but these are the ones that bring them back every single time I listen to them. Do you have any songs that bring back memories in your life? I would love to hear about them in the comments.
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