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My Gen X Playlist: Annie’s Song – John Denver

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Daily writing prompt
What would your life be like without music?
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This is an interesting prompt because of a recent blog I read. 50 Happens’ wrote about how music plays a big part of her Christmas season. After reading her blog, I thought how difficult it is to imagine the holidays without Christmas music. I love the feeling of goodwill that it brings. Christmas just isn’t Christmas without music.

I may not have started a blog without the music of my youth. Certain songs trigger certain memories. As I get older, they become more important, more meaningful. I wonder if certain memories would slowly fade away without the reminder that a melody brings. That’s a sad thought.

There was a span of years when I stopped listening to music. I switched to talk radio, mainly to distract myself from the stress from work. The ploy worked, but I look back at that time and think about how difficult life was back then. Maybe a little music could have let a little sunshine through the cracks in the walls. Who knows. Maybe yes, maybe no. I’d like to think yes.

It’s difficult to imagine life without music. It weaves in and out and plays different roles depending upon the season of life. This blog reintroduced me to the music I grew up with, now seen through a different lens. It blends childhood nostalgia with adult reflection that only living life can bring. Everybody has a different playlist. Songs mean different things to different people and that’s OK. Our connections are personal and unique. Sometimes deep, other times playful. It spans the spectrum of emotions. So, no. I’m going to politely decline the question this morning. I’d rather not imagine it. Life was meant to have music.

My mom loved John Denver and she played his records when we were kids. Denver wrote Annie’s Song for his wife after their separation and near break up. It was one of the fastest songs he ever wrote, composing it in about ten minutes while he was riding on a ski lift. Denver was reflecting on all the joy he found in his marriage and his relief that they were back together.

“Suddenly, I’m hypersensitive to how beautiful everything is. All of these things filled up my senses, and when I said this to myself, unbidden images came one after the other. All of the pictures merged and I was left with Annie. That song was the embodiment of the love I felt at that time.”

Annie recalled the day Denver wrote the song: “It was written after John and I had gone through a pretty intense time together and things were pretty good for us. He left to go skiing and he got on the Ajax chair on Aspen mountain and the song just came to him. He skied down and came home and wrote it down… Initially it was a love song and it was given to me through him, and yet for him it became a bit like a prayer.”

– SongFacts

It doesn’t seem possible to live in a world without music, when it can inspire a beautiful song in ten minutes. As Annie reflected, more than a song, a prayer. Music is a beautiful reflection of life, conveyed through words, melody and feelings. So powerful, they can fill up your senses. There just isn’t anything like it.

–

For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

You fill up my senses like a night in the forest,
like the mountains in springtime, like a walk in the rain,
like a storm in the desert, like a sleepy blue ocean.
You fill up my senses, come fill me again.

Come let me love you, let me give my life to you,
let me drown in your laughter, let me die in your arms,
let me lay down beside you, let me always be with you.
Come let me love you, come love me again.

You fill up my senses like a night in the forest,
like the mountains in springtime, like a walk in the rain,
like a storm in the desert, like a sleepy blue ocean.
You fill up my senses, come fill me again.

27 thoughts on “My Gen X Playlist: Annie’s Song – John Denver”

  1. This was fantastic! I really enjoyed reading this, and I remember John Denver with such love… one of my childhood favorites and I do believe he was a guest on the Muppet Show, you should go watch it… I have been watching old videos on youtube all morning since the prompt… lol

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    1. Thank you! Yes, I remember John Denver and the Muppets! Thanks for the memory. I’d completely forgotten about that. John Denver was my mom’s music growing up. I always liked his music. As I got older, I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for it.

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      2. So true. This blog has become more interesting for me when I learn more about the music. It’s start out just a good song I remembered, then sometimes I’m a little floored when I learn about it. It’s been fun.

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  5. I like the whole thing about memories being tied to certain songs and without them they might fade away. I have so many songs that define moments in my life to the point where the memory comes back in vivid color every time I hear that song.

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  6. My mom *loved* John Denver, and Peter Paul & Mary. I think I know every one of their songs by heart, even after all of these years. She played them that often. ^_^

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