Music Awakens My Soul

posted 21st October 2010    Written by: Marian    CATEGORY: All Posts, Inspiration, Marian, Season 3

As I write this I’m listening to George Winston’s Thanksgiving album, a CD my family would start listening around this time of year. London, unfortunately, doesn’t get a proper autumn, but New England in the fall? My favorite season, hands down. To make myself feel a little less homesick I listen to Thanksgiving on repeat while I work. It’s calming and takes me back to a place where I felt safe and at home.

Music does that for me.

Along with using music as a comfort, finding new bands and artists is a dorky hobby of mine that music snobs would scoff at and my Jason Mraz loving friends don’t really understand. For the past year or so I’ve been collecting my finds on a massive playlist, but these three I have yet to get sick of and remind me of turning points in my life.

The first is the Weepies “Can’t Go Back Now” — The album this song appears on was my go-to commuting music when I worked at a Tex-Mex restaurant in central London the summer of 2008. I had already been living there for a year and the city had become home. It was the first time I created a life for myself from scratch and every morning I would hear this song and these lyrics stuck out to me as if Steve and Deb were telling the story of my life:

Next, we have the sexy Australian Josh Pyke. I’m pretty sure that it’s thanks to iTunes Genius that I know about this guy and “The Lighthouse Song” is now one of my all time favorites. One day last year there was a big snow storm in New  York. I distinctly remember listening to this song while walking through an eerily quiet and empty Manhattan while it was covered in snow. Something about this song is peaceful, but also moving. It also has one the most romantic lines of all time:

Finally, my favorite band EVER is Mumford and Sons. One of their first songs is called “Awake My Soul” and now any time a song moves me the way this one does I call it my “soul awakening” music. I have no specific memory of this song, but my amazing boyfriend, who is a music connoisseur, first introduced me to Mumford a few years ago knowing they’d be my new obsession. Thank God. My favorite line in this song (though it’s really hard to choose just one):

It’s not just these three songs though that awake my soul though. Music in general has been a huge part of my life – everything from dancing around to the Spice Girls at age 11 to obsessively practicing Claire de Lune on the piano at age 13.

One of my favorite music memories was the simple act of growing up singing.  It’s funny being “known” for something now – for blogging and social media stuff – when what took up most of my time as a child and teenager were the various choirs I was in. Not just a church choir, but, like, competitive singing.

It’s so funny writing about this now as I haven’t sung in years. It stopped being fun in college when rehearsals lasted hours and I had “real work” to do. But back in the day I was in my high school all-girl honor choir as well as being selected for both Regional and All-State choruses.

More than anything I miss singing as part of a group, so I make up for that by constantly listening to music as it’s still the thing that inspires me the most.


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Comments (6)

6 Responses to “Music Awakens My Soul”

  • nikki_klecha Says:
    October 21st, 2010 at 9:22 am

    YAY music!!!! When I was in Australia, Mumford & Sons were EVERYWHERE but I got back to the US & no one had heard of them. Recently "Little Lion Man" started playing on the radio & the first time I heard it, I cranked it waaaaay up & sang at the top of my lungs (luckily I was in the car) and felt like I was back in Oz, on the edge of the Whitsunday Islands. Music has a way of doing that to a person – I still cry sometimes when I hear a song that resonated with me in a time of heartache, even if the reason for that heartache is long forgotten. Lovely post. :)

  • speaksoftlyandcarryaredpen Says:
    October 21st, 2010 at 9:25 am

    I loved this. I have been singing in a choir since I was very young. And yes, the kind with complicated sheets of music. I dropped singing a few years ago, and then went into a total funk about it. I only recently realised what a release it is for my spirit. I think I probably have a song for every major event in my life, so I completely relate to this.

    Also, I think this is the 3rd time I've heard about Mumford and Sons. Something is telling me to check them out.

    If you don't already know them, check out a band called Elbow. They're great :)

  • Christine Negroni Says:
    October 21st, 2010 at 5:04 pm

    Its a great loss for everyone in your immediate proximity that you no longer sing, Marian. As one of the few privileged to hear you belt out a tune, I can say, you have a sensational voice. Glad to know that the music is still rolling around inside your head, even if its not coming out.

  • Alisha Says:
    October 23rd, 2010 at 1:16 pm

    Why don't you make more time for singing? Take the work out of it and make it fun again?

    I love music too; beautiful lyrics have a way of breaking my heart. Thanks for sharing. I'll need to check out some of these bands.

  • marianschembari Says:
    October 26th, 2010 at 9:09 am

    Awwww, thanks Mommy!

  • Katie [blogs] Says:
    October 28th, 2010 at 1:06 pm

    I've heard none of these songs. However, I'm UTorrenting my face off when I get home tonight. Music is a HUMONGOUS TREMENDOUS THING for me. So tremendous, in fact, that I used CAPS LOCK. (And wrote LOCK as LICK about 10 times).

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