Musically Yours

Recently, I have been exchanging music with my friends. New music, old music...a little bit of everything. Thanks to the wonders of Google Talk, passing music and photo files back and forth is an absolute breeze. Seriously, if you haven't downloaded this program - do yourself a favor and get it.

Anyway.

To me, music is one of the most important things in existence. It enhances every joy and fills every emotional void in my life. Music speaks for me when I haven't the words to express myself, and as is often the case, a song or segment thereof can say it better than I ever could.

When I was in college, I had an amazing Psychology professor who gave us what at first appeared to be a simple assignment: What Song Describes You Best?

I say it sounded simple - but after going through the hundreds and hundreds of songs that I could identify with, I found myself torn. There were a few songs that truly seemed as though they had been written just for me...and for the way I viewed myself.

It came down to two.

At Seventeen, by Janis Ian and Man in the Wilderness, by Styx

There were many others whose lyrics were fitting in many ways...but these were the two that I felt had me pegged.

After much deliberation and hours of listening to scads of music, I went with Man in the Wilderness. It's lyrics are beautifully depressing, but it's melody keeps it from the depths of despair it describes. If you don't know it, check it out. You'll probably learn a little more about me in the process. Yes, the lyrics say 'man' in the wilderness - but we are all of the race of man, after all.

So, my friends, I pose to you the same question: What song describes YOU best? I ask because I'm truly interested - and I want to know.

MAN IN THE WILDERNESS (Styx, Grand Illusion, 1977)

Another year has passed me by, still I look at myself and cry
What kind of man have I become
All of the years I've spent in search of myself
But I'm still in the dark because I
Can't seem to find the light alone

Sometimes I feel like a man in the wilderness
I'm a lonely soldier off to war
Sent away to die...never quite knowing why
Sometimes it makes no sense at all

Ten thousand people look my way, but they can't see the way that I feel
Nobody even cares to try
I spend my life and sell my soul on the road
but I'm still in the dark because I
Can't seem to find the light alone

Sometimes I feel like a man in the wilderness
I'm a lonely sailor lost at sea
Tipping with the tide...and never quite knowing why
Sometimes it makes no sense at all

(I'm Alive!)
Looking for love, I'm a man with emotion
(My heart's on fire!)
I'm dying of thirst in the middle of the ocean
(I'm Alive.....)

Sometimes I feel like a man in the wilderness
I'm a lonely soldier off to war
Sent away to die...never quite knowing why
Sometimes it makes no sense at all
It makes no sense at all
Can't find the meaning of it all