Songs That Define Me

  Helene at Helene In Between is hosting a one time only link up about songs that mean something to you!  She is a lover of music and I am excited to share some music, that means something to me!

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 This was my best friend Katie and my song since forever. We would drive fast in her car, blasting this song as loud as it would go. We joke that this would be her, with all of her road rage. It brings me back to, Katie and Haley times!

//2



 This song kills me. every. single. time. I first heard it during the movie, "Michael" about the angel that only has so long on Earth. Right when he realizes he only has so many days left, they cue this song and he just sits in an empty field and soaks up the world around him. I always loved this song. My step dad was diagnosed with cancer in February 2005 and passed in March 2005. Willie Nelson was always one of his favourite artists to listen to.. Rudi always, always, always enjoyed life. He loved animals of all kinds, he appreciated nature and all of its beauty. His passing was such a tragedy not just because he was such a good person, but because I knew how much he loved life and living. The tragedy was knowing all that he would miss because he was no longer here. All of the beautiful sites he would no longer see, all of the unique experiences he would miss out on.. Listen to Willie's voice and imagine it is my Rudi, singing about the world he no longer lives in. This song will forever remind me of him..

//3

 

 I realize, that this is the same song as #2, but by the original artist. I have a neat story that goes along with this particular version of this song..
 During the months before my wedding in 2010, I phoned my dad and asked him to pick out a song that he thought represented us as father and daughter, that we could dance to on my wedding day. It took him awhile to come up with a song. He ended up choosing a Tim McGraw song that was beautiful, about fathers and daughters. I admit, that at the time I was disappointed because I didn't know the song very well and was expecting something else. But, my dad was born and raised in Alberta (Country music thrives there!) and he was in a few bands that played strictly country music. So, I didn't question it because it was what he chose and that's what I had wanted. My dad was fighting cancer for over two years on and off. When my wedding approached, he managed to travel to my town so that he could be here for me. On the day of the wedding, I was told by my mom and sister that dad was far too ill to make it to the wedding. My wedding was July 10th and dad passed away on July 27th. I didn't realize how ill he really was at the time. Dad disappointed me a lot throughout the years, but mostly near the end of his life. Looking back now, the biggest gift he could have given me was having him in my town, when I was married to Rob. He was there for me at a time when I needed him the most and at a time that was most inconvenient for him; when he was literally dieing. After his passing we traveled to dad's hometown for his funeral and I got to talking to my step mom. At our wedding, we didn't give out wedding mints but we gave out cd's that we made. Each cd had a list of songs that meant something to Rob and I. My sister in law couldn't find the Willie Nelson version of "What A Wonderful World" so she put the Louis Armstrong version on instead. I remember Rob was very upset because he knew how important the Willie Nelson version was to me. I reassured him, that I also liked the Louis version and that it wasn't a big deal. My step mom said that she finally popped our wedding cd in the other day and was shocked to hear the song. When my dad was trying to figure out a song for us, he told her that he loved THAT song. She told him, that it was old fashioned and that I probably wouldn't have liked it. So he went with the Tim McGraw song instead. So, in the end- how perfect was it, that the song ended up on our wedding cd and how amazing is it, that he chose the very song that I adore and love. So, one dad gets the Willie Nelson version... the other gets the Louis Armstrong version. This song means everything to me now.

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 The song Rob and I danced to, at our wedding. Love, love, love this song. I always have a difficult time sharing how I feel, especially when it comes to my love for Rob. I think I've been hurt by important people leaving my life too often and I have a hard time dealing with strong feelings of love. I sound like a robot.. but that is just my defense mechanism to keep the hurt away. Having said that, I have love for Rob like no other and when this song played on our wedding day, I just melted into his loving arms- knowing that he would always, always Stand By Me.

 //5

 

 Another song that explains word for word my feelings towards my amazing husband. Again, I'm not great with expressing my feelings out loud.. So I made him listen to this song once, and I sat beside him with tears in my eyes- from emotion and embarrassment. It just spoke to me and I told him that this song was exactly how I felt about him.. I also tried learning to sing this song... It is Sooooooo hard to sing. So I give the artist so much credit for making it sound easy!

Thinking up songs that are important to me was fun and actually really easy! I have so many more to share, but I'll leave that for another post. Thanks Helene for the inspiration to blog today!

What songs define who you are ??