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August 2019 | REDONLINE.CO.UKRed woman
THE SONG THAT
REMINDS ME OF A
SPECIAL TIME IS...
O Holy Night by
Adolphe Adam,
sung by my
mother
Every Christmas at
church, my mum sings
this song. That’s the
moment I feel profoundly
okay. It’s my strongest and
earliest memory, but
actually she sang it last
year, too. She’s 83 and her
voice is still incredible.
When I hear her singing it,
I feel grateful to have both
my parents still around.
We’re a very close-knit
family; we value dialogue,
conversation and
connection. These days,
I consider myself to be
spiritual. I call myself
a Christian and believe in
God, but I think any path
towards enlightenment is
acceptable, short of
committing heinous
crimes! I grew up
Christian, went through
Buddhism, and I still
meditate. Everybody
on the planet is, I think,
yearning to feel
a connection to
something higher.THE SONG
I FELL IN LOVE
WITH AS A
TEENAGER WAS...
I Wanna Be Your
Lover by Prince
Oh my gosh! During my
sophomore year in high
school, Prince’s
eponymous second album
was all we listened to.
Everybody would be
outside, dancing around,
and we loved this song.
During my school days,
the radio played mostly
‘corporate rock’, but
I started listening to The
Rolling Stones and T. Rex.
Later, I spent a summer
being a backing singer on
tour, where we constantly
overlapped cities with
Prince and Pink Floyd and
I got to hang out with
them. It was incredible to
watch Prince... talented is
an understatement. It was
a time when I was
shaping my own musical
identity and making my
own choices. Later, The
Rolling Stones’ Let It Bleed
album inspired me.
I found myself in it.
It was the perfect
combination of rock and
country music. Country
Honk, Gimme Shelter...
everything on that record
sounded so dangerous
to me, so in your face.
I learned it all on the
guitar and felt like I’d
found my place.THE SONG THAT
REMINDS ME
OF LOVE IS...
Your Song by
Elton John
When I was in seventh
grade, a boy from eighth
grade who I absolutely
adored played Your Song
on the guitar at a talent
show. He wasn’t playing it
for me – I don’t think he
had a clue I had a crush on
him! – but he had really
long hair, which in the
1980s was totally unheard
of, and I was like, ‘Oh
yeah... this guy!’ Who
knows where he is now,
but that song to me is
the quintessential
unconditional love song.
When heartbroken,
I’d listen to Don’t Let Me
Be Lonely Tonight by
James Taylor; it’s one of
those heartbreak songs
that keeps you in your
heartbroken state.
Generally, though, I don’t
listen to music when I’m
heartbroken. My response
is to pick up a guitar and
start playing. I play so
I don’t stay in it, although
being in heartbreak
is sometimes the
healthiest way.
THE SONG I USED
TO SING TO MY
CHILDREN WAS...
Blackbird by
The Beatles
When my sons were little
babies, I’d sing Edelweiss
from The Sound Of Music
and The Beatles’ Blackbird
to them. They still
remember and recognise
those songs. I have such
vivid memories of rocking
them, trying to get them to
sleep, and singing quietly.
Now they’re older, we
love to play ping-pong
together! They are also
into basketball and I do
try to keep up with them,
but I’m not so great. We’re
outdoorsy, swim
a lot, and both my boys
like to fish in the creek that
runs through our front
yard. I’ve met many of my
closest friends through
my kids – they have
children of a similar age
and we’ve all grown up
together. They’re a great
tribe of women and those
friendships are pretty
solid because we’re living
the same lives, with
the exception that I go
out of town sometimes
to play music!