The Me and Music Tag

Another tag! Yay! (And the second to last post before you get Current Sam back again. I'm sure you're all eagerly awaiting her return. Although she's probably REAL sleep deprived, just fyi.) I'm joining in again with another tag that was gifted to me by the lovely Grim Writer, and it is, predictably, about music! Let's get to it! 

Praecepta:

RULE 1: Tag the creator (Sophie @ Me & Ink) so anyone can find their way to the full lists of prompts/graphics (blogger has been being weird about links, so here's the full link: https://meandinkblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/15/me-and-music/)

RULE 2: Choose how many prompts you want to do (up to 17). Free feel to use (or not use) the headings or the graphics (either old or new versions).

RULE 3: Name 1-5 songs per prompt and have fun!

(Ha! There's no tagging requirement. If you want the tag, you can have it. Else, I'm not tagging anyone.)

Oh, and I made y'all a handy-dandy Spotify playlist! Not all the songs are on it (there are a few that are only on the 'Tube) but I did my darndest! :)

This is tough, because for the past three (ish) years I've been dividing time between the PNW and Illinois, so I compromised...the first two songs remind me of home because they remind me of good times with my family, the second two songs remind me of the PNW and my home city, and the last one (obviously) reminds me of Illinois.

Pompeii, Bastille, The Yale Spizzwinks(?) version // and the walls kept tumblin' down/in the city that we loved/great clouds rolled over the hills/bringing darkness from above/but if you close your eyes/does it almost feel like nothing's changed at all?/and if you close your eyes/you can almost feel like you've been here before

Castle on the Hill, Ed Sheeran // but I can't wait to go home/I'm on my way/driving at ninety down those country lanes/singing to "tiny dancer"/and I miss the way you make me feel, and it's real/when we watched the sunset over the castle on the hill

To the Mountains, Lizzy McAlpine // oh, I'm heading to the mountains/the only place I feel at peace 

It Won't Be Long Now, In The Heights // the elevated train by my window doesn't faze me anymore/the rattling screams don't disrupt my dreams/it's a lullaby in its way

Lay Me Down, Andrew Peterson // I suppose you could lay me down to die in Illinois/bury me beneath the rows of corn/or in between the maple trees I climbed on as a boy/for in the Land of Lincoln I was born/oh, and I recall/we rode the combines in the fall/and there comes a time/for gathering the harvest after all

Marianne, L'Angelus // just three years ago today/and I brought you here back to the steps where I first learned your name/in every way/you've grown dearer to my heart/your smile has been my grace/this old church has stayed the same/waiting here for us/will you take my name?

For Love of You, Audrey Assad // And for love of You, I'm a sky on fire/and because of You, I come alive/and it's Your Sacred Heart within me beating/your voice within me singing/all because of You

Crazy Faith, Alison Krauss & Union Station // you're not asking if I love this man/I know you don't, don't believe you can/but I've seen love open like a dancer's fan

Adelaide, Matthew Byrne // but I became enchanted by the beauty of a young girl/sitting pretty as a picture, in the park beneath the tree/I greeted this young maiden with respect and adoration/in a manner most becoming of a lad in uniform/and how my heart did sing when she accepted my advances/on a summer day in St. John's, when my love for her was born/...closer I had surely never felt to any other/for she was my first true love/and her name was Adelaide

Lock-Keeper, Stan Rogers // and you laugh at hearts you've riven/but which of these have given us more love or life/you your tropic maids/or me my wife?

For the record: the first two songs, and the last one, are ones where you will find me dancing (badly and goofily) in the kitchen while doing dishes. The last third and fourth ones are ones where I will legit bust out my killer line dancing moves. 

Starships, Pentatonix // I'm on the floor, floor/I love to dance/so give me more, more/till I can't stand/get on the floor, floor/like it's your last chance/if you want more, more/then here I am/starships were meant to fly/hands up and touch the sky

Yankee Bayonet, The Decemberists // and oh, did you see all the dead of Manasses/all the bellies and the bones and the bile?/no, I lingered here with my blankets barren/and my own belly big with child

Footloose, Kenny Loggins // footloose, footloose/kick off your Sunday shoes

Cotton-Eye Joe, Rednex // if it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe/I'd've been married long time ago/where did you come from, where did you go?/where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe?

The Waltz of St. Cecilia, L'Angelus // he said 'I don't know how, Annie I don't know when/God willing, my love, I will hold you again'/he sang as they danced 'Annie I may be long/will you be waiting for me?/then the children will sing/the white dove will bring/a sweet olive flower for your hair/and your name on my lips/will be my morning prayer/till again we dance the waltz of St. Cecilia'

Bring Him Home, Les Miserables // God on high/hear my prayer/in my need/you have always been there

Breathe, In The Heights // so how can I say/that while I was away/I had so much to hide/hey guys, it's me/the biggest disappointment you know/the kid couldn't hack it, she's back/and she's walking real slow/welcome home/just breathe

Quartet: There's A Man, The Secret Garden // then they turned and asked my pardon/I couldn't speak, my heart grown cold/why can't he see what he wants/he wants the past undone/why can't he see what he wants/his losing battles won/to have never loved her/never known how complete a loss can be

Satisfied, Hamilton // I remember that night, I just might regret that night for the rest of my days/I remember those soldier boys tripping over themselves to win our praise/I remember that dreamlike candlelight like a dream that you can't quite place/but Alexander, I'll never forget the first time I saw your face

Epic III, Hadestown // where is the treasure inside of your chest?/where is your pleasure, where is your youth?/where is the man with his arms outstretched/to the woman he loves/with nothing to lose?

Nantucket, The Longest Johns // fire flies from the long nines/shot handlers run about/the captain says we'll holler/as though there was some doubt/and as we blow on the matches/and brace to take the shock/my mind is in Nantucket/hauling whale meat into dock

The Rain Keeps Falling, Andrew Peterson // my daughter and I put some seeds in the dirt/and every day now we've been watching the earth/for a sign that this death will give way to a birth/and the rain keeps falling

Sweet Baby James, James Taylor // now, the first of December was covered with snow/so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston/though the Berkshires seemed dreamlike on account of that frostin'/with ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go...

True Love Knows No Season, Matthew Byrne version // but a rifleball came flying, face down he lay dying/there in the dust of the road where he lay/and Sarah ran to him, she was cursing the lawman/the poor girl knew no reason, except that he'd been slain/Sarah still lives in that old white frame house/where she first met Billy some forty years ago/but the wild rose of morning has faded with the dawning/of each day of sorrow the long years have grown

Romans 11, Andrew Peterson // oh, the depth of the riches/and the wisdom and knowledge of God/how unsearchable His judgements/how untraceable His paths/who knows the mind of our God/who can give counsel to Him/who has given to God/that God should repay/for from Him/through Him/to Him is everything

These are all songs we listened to A LOT when I was a kid, and a pretty good recommendation of our family's collective musical taste when I was a kid. ;)

The Future Soon, Jonathan Coulton, The Yale Spizzwinks(?) version // last week I left a note on Laura's desk/it said 'I love you, signed, anonymous friend'/turns out she's smarter than I thought she was/she knows I wrote it, now the whole class does too

The Edison Museum, They Might Be Giants // the Edison Museum, once a bustling factory/today is but a darkened cobweb covered hive of industry/the tallest, widest and most famous haunted mansion in New Jersey

I Think I'll Need A Bandaid, Trout Fishing In America // So I think I'll need a bandaid/Maybe three or four, five or six or more/and a bottle of that spray stuff we just got at the store/some stick tape, a roll of gauze, and if you'd be so kind/a washcloth and a piece of ice, but not the iodine/no iodine

Broken Moon, Lowen & Navarro // we build up the walls/to keep us inside/but oh, they keep us apart/till we become the worst kind of stranger/who stands with open arms/and barricades the heart/and still I hear you say/all is quiet tonight 

Happy, Pharrell Williams // clap along if you feel like a room without a roof/clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth

The Summons, John L. Bell // will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?/will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?/will you risk the hostile stare?/should your life attract or scare?/will you let me answer prayer in you/and you in Me?

Ca C'est Bon, L'Angelus // I gave you my heart/you gave me yourself/ca c'est bon/ca c'est bon/cried the hurricane

Brave, Sara Bareilles // but I wonder what would happen if you/say what you wanna say/and let the words fall out honestly/I wanna see you be brave/with what you wanna say/and let the words fall out honestly/I wanna see you be brave

Dreams, The Cranberries // oh, my life is changing everyday/in every possible way/and oh, my dreams/it's never quite as it seems/never quite as it seems

It's A Great Day To Be Alive, Home Free version // yeah, I think I'll make me some homemade soup/I'm feeling pretty good and that's the truth/ain't neither drink nor drug induced/no, I'm just doin' alright/and it's a great day to be alive/I know the sun's still shinin' when I close my eyes

John the Red Nose, trad., TLJ version // "oh, what will you do there?" said Milder to Maulder/"oh we may not tell you" said Festle to Foes/"we'll hunt the Cutty Wren" said John the Red Nose/"we'll hunt the Cutty Wren" said John the Red Nose

The Grey Selkie, trad., Lady Maisery version // for I am a man upon the land/and a selkie in the sea/and when I am far and far from land/my home's in Sule Skerry

Daisies White, trad. Appalachian // and sometimes as I'm dreaming so/across the sky the moon will go/she is the maiden sweet and fair/who comes to gather daisies there

Spanish Ladies, trad. // then it's stand by your stoppers, steer clear you shank-painters/haul up your clew garnets, let tacks and sheet fly/we'll rant and we'll roar/like true British sailors/we'll rant and we'll roar along the salt seas/until we strike soundings in the channel of Old England/from Uschant to Scilly is thirty-five leagues

The Factory Girl, trad., Lady Maisery version // he spied one amongst them more fairer than any/her lips like red roses that none could excel/her skin like the lily that blooms in the valley/she was a hard-working factory girl

Frobisher Bay, James Gordon, TLJ version // cold is the Artic sea/far are your arms from me/cold will this winter be/frozen in Frobisher Bay/frozen in Frobisher bay

Stay I Pray You, Anastasia // how can I desert you?/how to tell you why?/coachman, hold the horses/stay, I pray you/let me have a moment/let me say goodbye/to bridge and river, forest and waterfall/orchard, sea and sky/harsh and sweet and bitter to leave it all/I'll bless my homeland till I die

Risen Indeed, Andrew Peterson // and so the winter dies with a blast of icy wind/like a mournful cry, it's giving up the ghost again/another sheet of snow melts away to gold and green/look at Peter go, he's racing to the tomb to see/where has my Jesus gone?/He is not dead/He is risen/risen indeed

Stay, Alison Krauss & Union Station // where have you been/my long lost friend?/it's good to see you again/come sit for a while/I've missed your smile/today the past is put by

Only In Sleep, Eriks Esenvalds, Trinity College version // only in sleep/time is forgotten/what may have come to them/who can know/yet we played last night, as long ago/and the dollhouse stood at the turn of the stair

Sparrow, The Arcadian Wild // was it all a big misunderstanding?/did I give away my heart for nothing?/no, there has to be a reason or it's just me to blame/can you love entirely and still be left lonely?

The Ramblin' Rover, Siobhan Miller version // oh, there're sober men aplenty/drunkards barely twenty/there are men of over ninety/who have never yet kissed a girl/but give me a ramblin' rover/frae Orkney down to Dover/we'll roam the country over/and together we'll face the world

Agamemnon, The Teacups version // where are all the Beaulieu boys that built the Agamemnon?/let them lie neath waiting grass, contented where they lay/swords and swinging riveters, the sounds will not be waking them/sink them in their hammocks, boys, they've gone far away

Llongau Caernarfon, trad. // O na chown i fynd ar f'union/dros y môr a hwylio nôl i G'narfon.

Order and Chaos, Lady Maisery // lay me down/set me free/oh, a part of this world I'll still be/you'll not find me in order but chaos/as I follow the path that time makes us

Restless, Alison Krauss & Union Station // Honey I know, you've been alone some/why don't you fool some, 'cause I love you/and honey I know, I've been away some/I've had to pay some, and you have too/but the one thing I know that when I, I turn out the light/visions of you dear, dance in the night. I've been/put down, pushed around, apprehended and led downtown and I/can't help it if I'm out of sight, 'cause I'm restless tonight

In A Crowd of Thousands, Anastasia // a parade/passing by/it was hot/not a cloud in the sky/then a boy caught my eye/in a crowd of thousands/he was thin/not too clean/there were guards/but he dodged in between/yes he made himself seen/in that crowd of thousands/then he called out my name/and he started to run/through the sun, and the heat, and the crowd/and I tried not to smile, but I smiled/and then...he bowed...

A Different Person, Howl's Moving Castle, Justin Huertas // I decorate the hats, one by one/decide to try them on when they are done/maybe I'll feel like I could put someone under my spell/maybe I'll feel like someone else as well/if every step on my journey wasn't clear/I'm an old maid under every bonnet here/maybe the problem isn't the haloes or pillbox hats in the shop/maybe the problem is I'm not someone else/every other life seems so unique!/have I no fortune meant for me to seek?

Day by Day, Andrew Peterson // well, we took a train to Kensington/and listened to the children run/just beyond the garden gate/where Peter and Wendy played/there was a sign that said we weren't allowed/to duck inside and join the crowd/without a son or daughter's hand/to lead us into Neverland/and it hurt so bad/but it's so good to be young/and I don't wanna go back/I just wanna go on and on and on/day by day/day by day

Shasta's Complaint, Sarah Sparks // but He answered 'who are you to question Me?/do you command the mountains or calm the raging sea?/for I am the current, there to save your life/a man may find his eye deceiving/a fool holds on to trust his sight/a wise man knows that his own feeling/may not with the truth align'

The Man Who Can't Be Moved, The SCRIPT // Policeman says, "son, you can't stay here"/I said, "there's someone I'm waiting for if it's a day, a month, a year/gotta stand my ground even if it rains or snows/if she changes her mind this is the first place she will go"

Wreck of the Dandenong, trad., Lonan version // and I dream of you/I dream of sleep/I dream of being warm/but through the night I have to sail/to brave this raging storm

My major folk music phase, sparked by the Grim Writer, started at the very tail end of my freshman year of college (and hasn't stopped since, lol). That was the year where instead of going home after I was done with finals, I flew to San Francisco to meet my family, who were there visiting relatives. We hung out there for a while and then drove home (a two-day trip). I had a folk music playlist that was on repeat that entire time (and was also feeling very emotional about some of the people I wouldn't be seeing all summer) (granted, this still happens when I leave). So, whenever I listen to Wreck of the Dandenong, I think of one specific stretch of road between San Francisco and my grandparent's house, with specific Californian trees growing along it, and the heartache of leaving behind my dear friends for the first time. 

Falling Slowly, from Once // take this sinking boat/and point it home/we've still got time/raise your hopeful voice/you have a choice/you've made it now/falling slowly/eyes that know me/and I can't go back
My parents have had a lot of trouble over the years finding board games that they can play together (both because of having disparate taste, and because of being competitive--they've given up playing Scrabble for the sake of their marriage XD), and a continual favourite is a game called Qwirkle, which is a bit like Scrabble (ironically), but with shapes and colours instead of letters. Look it up, it's fabulous. Also, my mom always wins. My dad is a very gracious loser. :D Anywho...for some reason they've decided that the soundtrack from Once is essential listening for when they're playing Qwirkle--can't play without it, can't listen to Once any other time, or so it seems. So, listening to "Falling Slowly" takes me back to sitting in my living room during high school, curled up with a book, and my parents sitting on the rug deliberating over their moves and sometimes goofily singing along. :)

My Lad Who Swept Away, The Grim Writer // well, his gold ring has grown tarnished and old/and my hair is as grey as the waves of the lake/but I live hard e'en though I'm old/pay no heed to lies time's told/and my fortune in a better world I hope to make
First of all, Grim is going to kill me for putting this into the post. But, as you can (possibly) tell, she's had a big impact on my music taste (the folk music bit, at any rate), and this is one of my favourite folk songs. It also happens to be a song that she wrote, taking the tune of an existing folk song and writing new words inspired by "White Squall" by Stan Rogers (another of my favourites), but from the woman's point of view.
There are two memories associated with this one: one is enthusiastically telling Grim about how much I think about the song all the time and having her be like "oh...I forgot I wrote that", and realizing I had it memorized and she didn't. XD 
The other is that when I was at the Lady Maisery Summer Sing weekend, there was an open mic night the second night. I hadn't sung solo in public since high school (and never unaccompanied) but I decided that I was Going To Do The Open Mic because it's good to do scary things sometimes. Which then left the question of what I was going to sing. MLWSA is the folk song that I most often sing to myself while just going about my daily life/walking around/etcetera, so I knew I had the words memorized, the tune sits nicely in my range, and so on. Plus, the 'rewriting a story from the woman's point of view' thing was going to be right up Lady Maisery's alley. Which is how I ended up singing one of my friend's songs in front of her song-writing idols and making her lose her ever-loving mind. (And I kinda knocked it out of the park, if I do say so myself.)

Ghost In This House, Alison Krauss // I'm just a ghost in this house/I'm just a shadow upon these walls/as quietly as a mouse/I haunt these halls/I'm just a whisper of smoke/I'm all that's left of two hearts on fire/that once burned out of control/you took my body and soul/I'm just a ghost in this house
My mom really likes Alison Krauss, so we listened to a lot of her music when I was a kid (which I loved and still do. my mom has great taste in music, some of which has taken me a while to appreciate (e.g. Lowen & Navarro), but some of which I've always loved (Alison Krauss)). This one has particular memories attached to it, because my little sister (who's now an adult! HELP!) when she was three or four had some pronunciation issues (and also a tiny little Texan accent that no one could tell how she'd acquired) (it was adorable). So, we'd be listening to this song in the car, and she'd be singing along "ahm just a yost in this house..." and it was hilarious. 

Old Churchyard, trad., Wailing Jennies version // come, come with me to the old churchyard/I so well know those paths neath the soft green sward/friends slumber in there that we want to regard/we will trace out their names in the old churchyard
I can't resist a cemetery. If there's a cemetery in my vicinity, you will find me in there, wandering through, reading inscriptions, praying for the dead, and very likely singing this song. So on the basic level, this song carries with it the memories of wandering through umpteen churchyards and cemeteries, both in the US and in England. (And Ireland, and Scotland, etcetera.) 
On a slightly deeper level, it reminds me of a trip I took to visit a friend, who took me to her favourite cemetery, and we wandered through and ended up singing this song together, as well. :)

It's funny, but because of being a "choir kid" for fifteen years and counting, most of the songs that I have the most trouble not singing along to are actually choral arrangement. Once you know the harmonies, man, you've gotta sing them. (I could have filled this category entirely with the Christmas songs I sang at our Choir Christmas Sing last December when even breathing made my chest hurt. That was A Whole Thing.)

No Time, Susan Brumfield, Illinois Honors Chorus version // rise, oh fathers, rise/let's go meet em in the skies/we will hear the angels sing/in that morning/oh I really do believe/just before the end of time/we will hear the angels sing/in that morning/no time to tarry here/no time to wait for you/no time to tarry here/for I'm on my journey home

Missing You, Alison Krauss & John Waite // but I an't missing you at all/since you've been gone away/I ain't missing you/no matter what my friends say

Omnia Sol, Z. Randall Stroope //o stay your soul and leave my heart its song/o stay your hand; the journey may be long/and when we part, and sorrow can't be swayed/remember when, and let your heart be staid

We Will Survive, Andrew Peterson // oh, Jamie, I'm all alone out here/and all I used to know is in the wind/and now/I don't recognize a thing/I need a brand new song to sing/so tell me the story I still need to hear/tell me we're gonna make it out alive again/I need to know there's nothing left to fear/nothing left to hide/so will you look me in the eye/and say we will survive

Sicut Cervus, Palestrina // sicut cervus desiderate ad fontes aquarum/ita desiderat anima mea ad te, Deus meus

This is not a very exclusive category. As most of my friends and siblings can attest, recommending music to me is a perilous venture. Anything that's recommended to me, I start out by assuming that I'll hate, and so I'm reluctant to listen to it, even though I usually end up loving it. Just ask my brother--he recommended "Rox in the Box" to me while I was still in high school I'm pretty sure, and I just this past spring have become obsessed with it. Sorry, Eomer. ;)

Rox in the Box, The Decemberists // So while we're living here/let's get this little one thing clear/there's plenty of men to die; you don't jump your turn/and it's one two three/on the wrong side of the lee/what were you meant for?/what were you meant for?/and it's seven eight nine/you get your shovel back in line/and if you ever make it to ten you won't make it again

Stargazer Lilies, Home Free // I know you won't mind but I/I took your car when you were sleeping/got it cleaned and filled it up/a little coffee to drink in the morning/on the front steps while the sun is coming up/I don't know how else to say it/you're rare and beautiful/the way you see the world/and teach me things that I should know/and I know it might sound silly/but stargazer lilies are hard to find

Dawson's Christian, Vixy & Tony // there are stories of the Dutchman, the Celeste and Barnham's Pride/there are stories of the Horseman and the Lady at his side/but the tale that chills my spirit, more because I know it's true/is the tale of Jayme Dawson and his crew

Flying, Stan Rogers // ninety-nine of us trying, only one of us flying/and every kid over the boards listens for the sound/the roar of the crowd is their ticket for finally leaving this town/to be just one more hopeful in the Junior A/dreaming of that miracle play/and going up flying, going home dying/I tell them to think of the play and not of the fame/if they've got any future at all, it's not in the game

Travelin' Soldier, Home Free // she said when it's getting kinda rough over here/I think of that day sittin' down at the pier/and I close my eyes and see your handsome smile/don't worry but I won't be able to write for a while

In the spirit of the question, I've decided to limit my choices to albums that I usually actually listen to as albums, i.e. start to finish, nothing in between, as God intended. ;)

Ca C'est Bon, L'Angelus // as you may have gathered (or maybe not? who knows), this is one of my favourite albums of all time, and something I listen to nonstop if I need motivation and/or a major French-Cajun pick-me-up. 

Cures What Ails Ya, The Longest Johns // this is the TLJ album that our family listens to in the car all the time when we're driving up to our house in the mountains, and I don't think there's a bad song on it. It's just fabulous. 

The House You're Building, Audrey Assad // this is the album that got me through high school. Any time I was driving anywhere, I would turn it on and sing along...constantly. And I think it really helped my faith life! 

The Secret Garden, Original Broadway Recording // This may seem like a weird choice, but while TSG is one of my favourite Broadway musicals, it's not one where most of the individual songs stand out to me? But the album!! The album includes talking bits in between the songs--not all the dialogue, but a bunch of it--so it almost feels like an audiobook, or a radio play. So fun to listen to!

After All These Years, Andrew Peterson // this is like Greatest Hits of Andrew Peterson, basically, and while some of my favourites aren't on there, if I could pick one of his albums that I had to confine myself to (of his music) for the rest of my life, this would be it.

I know technically not all of these are music videos in the typical, classical sense of the word. Sue me! I watch "How Could I Ever Know" way more often than I watch any kind of 'normal' music video. XD Mandy Patinkin is in it. That's all you need to know.

Starships, Pentatonix // starships are meant to fly

Nantucket, The Longest Johns // I come from an island/and islander's ways/breakers and Quakers and few of us stray

The Bells of Notre Dame, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Bookend Productions // and some say the soul of the city's the toll of the bells/the bells of Notre Dame

How Could I Ever Know, The Secret Garden // how could I know I would have to leave you?/how could I know I would hurt you so?/you were the one I was born to love/oh, how could I ever know?

Wherever I'm Going, Howl's Moving Castle, Justin Huertas // an old crone, but it didn't stop here enjoying the sights/and breathing the scent of May/it was a warm spring day!/I'll write a letter to Lettie and Martha/as soon as I get to wherever I'm going

So there ya go! I'm curious what kind of picture you've formed of my musical taste after all that...tell me in the comments!