Neil Diamond is back in the public spotlight. Well, I guess he never really faded out of it; he of the “Sweet Caroline” – bump bump bump – Boston Red Sox fame.
I noticed he has a new album coming out, he did a Today Show concert yesterday and there is a new Sirius/XM channel (Sirius #147) devoted to him. Presumably the two latter points tie back to the former.
I frequently listen to my satellite radio in the Jeep. I do this more often during the afternoon commute rather than during morning drive. Occasionally, I’ll tune in “Mike and Mike” on ESPN Radio while I’m heading to work.
This morning was one of those mornings.
As I turned on the power to the unit, I noticed it was still tuned to the Neil Diamond channel from yesterday’s afternoon drive. Just then, I heard the opening bars to his classic hit, “America.” This was a popular tune during my senior year in high school, from the soundtrack of the motion picture, “The Jazz Singer,” along with others, such as “Hello Again” and “Love on the Rocks.”
Good stuff. Nostalgic stuff. So I decided to stay on 147 and enjoy the music.
When I got to my interstate exit, I was getting ready to shift over to Mike and Mike as the song ended and the next one came on. When I heard what it was, I had to stay with Neil Diamond.
Next up was the 2005 song, “Oh Mary.”
If you’ve followed the blog over the last couple of years, you remember one of the key threads has been genealogy. Most recently, that focus has been on finding the gravesite of my great grandmother Mary Valentine Carpenter and placing a grave marker for her. We did this two weekends ago.
When we returned to town from our trip to Mississippi – almost as a poignant postscript to the experience – I found this song, “Oh Mary.” I think it started as a simple exercise with me googling the words “Songs About Mary.”
What I found was much more than a simple list. It was a discovery. Sometimes, music really speaks to us. It touches a special spot in our soul or reminds of us of a pleasant memory. Or both. Or more.
In this case, it was like the songwriter was re-tracing my steps from the last 2+ years. A sample of some of the lyrics:
Oh Mary
Was it just a dream
That I dreamed the other night?
I saw you there
Standing right beside me
And we finally had it right
The song is soulful; mournful; haunting. If you are interested, you should check it out.
Anyway, it was a much different morning commute today. After hearing that beautiful song, I knew I was going to have a great day.
JG
Originally posted 10/21/2014
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