Tag Archives: the beatles

#22 In My Life

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For those just joining me, I’m counting down – in no particular order – my top 25 favorite songs of all time.  This is a tall order, I tell you.  I’m *kinda* a music freak, in case you haven’t noticed. 

So here’s today’s favorite: In My Life by The Beatles

This was one of the songs in the running for my class song the year I graduated high school (it was beat out by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ Free Fallin’ - the votes were loaded in its favor & I was disappointed.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great song, just not graduation song material.  I’m digressing again…)  It’s always kinda been a song I think of and love to listen to at times of transition in my life.  I just love it.  Plus, it’s John, Paul, George, and Ringo.  What’s not to love, I ask you?!

Here are the lyrics:

There are places I’ll remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All this places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life, I’ve loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I’ll often stop and think about them
In my life, I love you more

Though I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I’ll often stop and think about them
In my life, I love you more
In my life– I love you more

Lennon & Morrison

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Wow! Substantial week for Rock and Roll history, huh?  Yesterday was the anniversary of John Lennon’s death and would have been Jim Morrison’s birthday. 

Thirty years ago yesterday, the John Lennon was taken from this world. 

Morrison was 27 when he was found in a bathtub in Paris; Lennon was shot just forty years after his birth.

Who knows what the music world would be like if they’d both survived their relative demise, but that’s just a big, fat “what if?” game.

Both impacted the music world forever and surely neither will ever be forgotten.  Since I have just posted one of Lennon’s songs right before this one, here’s one of my favorite songs by The Doors:

Do you have a favorite song by The Doors?

That Amazing Song (My #25)

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You know which one.  The one that makes you remember your first love, or your first break up.  The one that dredges up memories of a listless summer or of a frigid winter.  What are those songs that have impacted your life and that have stayed with you?

I’m admittedly kinda Bogarting an idea here with my list of amazingly life-changing songs.  SPIN Magazine regularly posts lists of pivotal albums, awesome artists, or influential music in some form or another.  I like the High Fidelity aspect of the lists.  If you haven’t seen High Fidelity, I feel insanely sorry for you.  Here’s a clip–not the best, but it was the only list scene I could find without any Jack Black cussing tirades (which I love, but I’m trying to keep this blog as PG-13 as possible):

Anyway, I’m going to start my own list of 25 songs that have affected me, or that will stay with me forever–the ones that, for me, are simply the best.  They’re in no particular order, and I’m not going to do these every day, but here we go!

#25 Imagine John Lennon

Yes.  I’m serious.  And don’t give me crap about it being cliché.  I was a teenager when this song first touched my heart, before I really cared what cliché musical choices were.  My musical education, from my earliest years, consisted of the greats of 1960s and 1970s Rock and Roll: The Beatles, The Stones, The Eagles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jethro Tull, Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd, Z Z Top, and the like. 

The Beatles have always been one of my favorite bands and so it was natural that I would fall in love with John Lennon’s solo work, and Imagine is probably one of the best songs ever written.

The melody, the lone piano, the simplicity of the song is just…well…there really aren’t words for the musical genius that is this song.  It’s always given me a peaceful feeling and, like no other song before or after, it has the ability to calm me down and give me a little moment of perspective.  I think John would be proud of his song’s influence, and I hope I’m not the only one.

Ahhh!  It gives me chills.  I LOVE this song to the bottom of my heart.

What are some of the songs that have impacted you?  I’d love to know!  Please share them with me below.

xo