“I gave her my heart but she wanted my soul. Don’t think twice, it’s all right.”
— Bob Dylan
The news lately has been so heavy. Let’s choose a different subject. How about music where I have absolutely no expertise? I cannot sing, play or read music. Still, like most of you, I love it. It is difficult to imagine life without music, the music that magically transports each of us to a time and place on life’s calendar through the release of mood-enhancing endorphins or to a melancholy state of sadness and regret.
I’ve given away my collection of vinyl, and once-treasured CDs sit muted and dusty as I have moved on to a streaming service that delivers any song with a simple command. I miss the album covers, the scratch of a turntable and its tactile qualities. But let’s not travel down that alley of regret.
I was excitedly telling one of my valued sons about how with the streaming service I have discovered how to make playlists and cool collections of songs. My excitement was tempered by his incredulous look and response, “Dad, everyone does that.” “Oh yeah. I knew that.” I replied, tight lipped, my excitement melting like a Hershey bar in the pocket on a hot day. I moved that son off the valued list.
So I can possibly tell you, the reader, about my playlists. I would assume that since you are reading this piece you are not a particularly hip individual. You’ve got some time to waste. Here are some examples of playlists I have made through great deliberation and research:
Aspirational Love Songs (You know, the kind where the desperate young man pines over a girl he has never had the courage to talk to. This describes most of my youth.)
Beatles Favorites
Collaborations
College Fight Songs
Covers I Like
Duets
Songs with Great Intros
Talking Songs
Repetitive (excessive) Lyric Songs
Wouldn’t Fly Today Songs (lyrics that would not be acceptable today)
Songs for Jilted Lovers (I love this one)
My wife Donna is so proud of me. I often need to tamp down her enthusiasm so as not to embarrass me at parties. Just last week I said, “Honey, did you see the new playlist I made of Talking Songs?” With those beautiful brown eyes, she stared at me in a moment of grateful silence. She replied with a non-sequitur. “Have you seen the list of jobs I need you to do around here?” I had to admit that I had not. She cut short her stare, turned nimbly and left the room as though not seeing the list was my fault.
Of course, my playlists are filled with songs from my formative years. We listened to WLS, Chicago; CKLW, Windsor, Ontario; and Fort Wayne’s WOWO (long before it became the “angry old man” station) on our tinny transistor radios that we assumed would represent the pinnacle of music technology for centuries to come. It was all AM radio. It was magic. FM was for schmucks.
Just for fun, let’s look at my top 10 list of Songs for Jilted Lovers. We’ve all been on the losing end of a relationship, real or imagined. We’ve all hung up in our mind closet what we should have said in that moment of indignity. These songs allow us to remember those times and to formulate perfect responses for future use. You know, just in case our hearts are ever trampled on again. The requirement for this list is the song must take the listener on a sad ride of emotion. If it drips in sarcasm, all the better:
1. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right — Bob Dylan
2. I Wanna Be Around — Tony Bennett
3. He Stopped Loving Her Today — George Jones
4. Diamonds and Rust — Joan Baez
5. Solitary Man — Neil Diamond
6. The Poor Side of Town — Johnny Rivers
7. Autumn Leaves — Eva Cassidy
8. You’re So Vain — Carly Simon
9. Taxi — Harry Chapin
10. Ain’t No Sunshine — Bill Withers
11. I Wish It Would Rain — Temptations
The first three are the best. With Dylan and his maudlin harmonica, I see a heartbroken young man in jeans trudging away from his lost lover along a dusty road with his long hair trailing his tattered jacket, his burdened gait matching his heavy heart. With Bennett’s lament I see a club scene, spiraling cigarette smoke and an evening gown on a gal both delicate and refined when I hear him speak of revenge being sweet. Jones’ third person biography of death and love never realized may be the saddest and most gut-wrenching song of lost love ever written: “…and soon they’ll carry him away. He stopped loving her today.”
It’s my list. Yes, I know there are 11 songs on the list. I can hear the critics now. Where’s the country music? Well, it’s my list, and I can only listen to George Strait’s twang for so long. I know country music might dominate this category for some. Not for me. I have friends and family members who love country, but let’s be honest, they are not very interesting people.
Here’s the thing:
1. It’s my list.
2. I’m sticking to it.
3. I would love to know what songs would make your list of Songs for Jilted Lovers.
4. Send me your suggestions.
ken.ballinger@yahoo.com
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Editor’s Note: This is one of a series of articles written by a group of retired and current teachers — Ken Ballinger, Billy Kreigh, Marianne Darr-Norman, and Anna Spalding. Their intent is to spur discussions at the dinner table and elsewhere. You may also voice your thoughts and reactions via The News-Banner’s letters to editor.
