Every Mile a Memory

Pool Boy and I had the opportunity to hit up the Kenny Chesney concert last week with some of our good friends. We originally had the lawn seats (we're ballers like that), but our friends had some connections and got us 4th row seats...then surprised us with some backstage passes. Suh-weeet! We had so much fun. As Kenny performed song after song, I was amazed at how many of the songs took me back to a moment in my life or a specific memory. Isn't music amazing that way? Got me thinking about my top list of songs that strike the strongest memories. So here they are...

Top Memorable Songs/Moments (in no particular order)

1. "Small Town" & "Jack & Diane" by John Mellencamp

First let me say, I adore Mellencamp. I think he's genius and is one of the few who can make smoking look sexy. He's amaze-balls. Point. Blank. Both of these songs (and all Mellencamp for that matter) will always remind me of my dad (also a Mellencamper). He introduced me to him slowly through our long drives from western Washington to eastern Washington during the summers to see our grandma, aunt/uncle and cousins. He'd play Mellencamp on our boat while we'd float and swim the day away. Then, in 2000, during my freshman year at Baylor I met my dad in Philly and we drove (in the middle of a wickedly cold December) from Philly to Seattle. Yep, in the dead of winter along the northern U.S. Cray-cray? Yep and we loved it. When we hit Indiana and saw the sign for Bloomington we both knew what to do. Follow the signs in search  of Mellencamp. Only his true followers know that the man himself resides there. Mellencamp never gave into the LA scene and stayed with his roots in small town Bloomington. Yet another reason to adore the man. We never found Mellencamp, but it didn't stop us from rolling the windows down and shouting his name in hopes he'd pop out from behind a stop sign and say, "Jim? Natalia? Is that you guys? So glad you made it! Wanna grab a beer?" That didn't happen, but it didn't stop us from trying or from listening to Mellencamp for the next 4 hours. I love Mellencamp, but love Big J (dad) more.

2. "Take Me Out to the Dancehall" by Pat Green

I was first introduced to Pat Green at Baylor in Waco, TX (sigh....college how I miss you). I was at George's Bar enjoying a "Big O" beer when I first heard this song. I was surrounded by my most favorite college friends that I always think of when this song comes on my ipod. I can picture us all sitting around the table laughing, not realizing how quickly that time goes by. I will always look back and remember how completely content I felt in that moment. I have some pretty amazing friends if I do say so myself.

3. "Wide Open Spaces" by Dixie Chicks

This song came out right about the huge turning point of high school graduation and starting college. I went about 2,000 miles away from my pac northwest roots to the middle of hot, humid central Texas....Waco of all places. Who knew that I would love that place so much. I was literally going to wide open spaces and taking on a whole new life filled with new faces, culture and a new language filled with words I never knew had so many meanings. For example, "fixin" has two meanings neither of which have anything to do with fixing anything. My personal favorite is "mug down." It means make out. After a first date I came home to my dorm and my roommate from Temple, TX said, "Well, did y'all mug down?" My response was, "Why would he mug me or want to steal anything for that matter?" Clearly we had very different ideas of what "mug" meant. (Look for a post coming soon on my favorite Texas sayings...hilarious).

4. "Nashville Blues" by Cory Morrow

 WARNING: Another college memory...I'm sorry y'all but I really loved my college experience. Now onto the memory....word got out about a last minute Cory Morrow concert out past Marlin (good luck finding it on a map) and I jumped in the car with my boyfriend at the time and 4 others. A few drinks later and next thing you know I'm dancing the night away at a podunk bar literally in the middle of nowhere. I danced everywhere I went that night....to the bathroom, onstage, on a chair, on the bar top (yes, I was that girl), with my boyfriend, with my friends, with strangers...everywhere. It was a blast until I asked an undercover cop in the bathroom if she had a flask or would buy me and my friends some drinks. This lead to me in the back of a cop car (laughing...which didn't sit too well with the cop) then finally falling asleep in the back of the car. When I woke up it was not as funny. I was picturing my parents literally killing me after this. To my surprise I didn't get arrested, but I got a lengthy scolding from the cop right before I puked on her shoes. Ooops. 

5. "Then" by Brad Paisely
This song will always conjure up two amazing moments in my life...the day Pool Boy proposed in the exact spot where we first met and had our first kiss and our wedding day. Both moments changed my life forever, just like he has. Gosh I love that man.
                                           

6. "Zombie" by The Cranberries

In 7th grade I fell for the bad boy and that bad boy was all about grunge. Since I was so far from grunge, I decided that to get bad boy's attention I should start dressing grunge. Turns out, that look is not so hot on me. I also thought that if I listened to "Zombie" on my walkman that he'd think I was pretty cool. It worked! We "went out" (meaning we never went anywhere in public together ever we just said "hi" at school and kissed in front of all of our friends). The relationship ended after two weeks because after kissing him I decided it was gross and didn't want to do it again.

So there you have it...my most memorable songs...at least the ones I can think of off the top of my head. I think I smell a new series of blog posts though. What are your most memorable songs?