Birthday Shuffle a Deux #9

Here I am, Lord - John Michael Talbot
Catalina Island, summer camp, talent show. I used to play guitar. I think I started playing guitar because my mom encouraged me to join the church choir and got me a guitar. I have to admit I wasn't very good. I could play chords, sure. I could sing, sure. I just wasn't very good at it. I'm sure if I had applied myself and actually practiced, I might have been better. But, I digress.

While in high school, I was a member of the church youth group, and my junior and senior years I went to a week long church camp at Campus by the Sea on Catalina Island. At the end of the week, there would be a talent show. I played this song with one of the other campers singing. Her talent was showcased, I just basically strummed along in the background. But, I loved this song. It's one of several religious pieces of music on my iPod. I find them to be inspirational, and I find them at times to help me reflect on what I am doing in my life.

This song especially spoke to me as a teen working my way through conflicts with my mom, trying to find my independence, looking ahead to college and the unknown. I didn't know what I was supposed to be doing, and there was a certain peace in just being able to say, "Here I am; I am ready to do Your will." Given the twists and turns my life has taken to get here, I guess I still am.

1 Samuel 3:2 - 10
2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

4 Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am. ” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel! ” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Birthday Shuffle a Deux #8

I am a California Girl.  I grew up in Southern California;  land of beaches, hot summer sun, and the Beach Boys.  While I like a number of their songs, "Warmth of the Sun" has to be one of my all time favorites.  Brian Wilson and Mike Love wrote the song as a tribute to John F. Kennedy on the night of his assassination.  Love was thinking about a woman who didn't reciprocate his feelings for her, and set it to the melancholy tune that Wilson had come up with.  I just like the melody and the harmonies that only the Beach Boys could create.  Ethereal.

Birthday Shuffle a Deux #7

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John

Many people say that Elton John's writer Bernie Taupin wrote this about himself. Taupin was a country boy who probably didn't like getting caught up in Elton's high class city lifestyle. I like to think about it as a song about getting back to basics.

 Dorothy followed the yellow brick road and found that what she was searching for was right in front of her the entire time. All she had to do was click her heels and say, "There's no place like home. There's no place like home."

Birthday Shuffle a Deux #6

Wow are the memories coming back... Overjoyed by Stevie Wonder

Again, like yesterday, college, Freshman Year, unrequited love song to the max... funny how this week's songs are all taking me back to that place and time. I've got to give my iPod a good shake tomorrow, but regardless.

Stevie Wonder actually was going to use the song in 1979 for an album he released, but it got left off that album and wasn't released until 1985 when it was released as a single.

The lyrics that always get me are:

"And though you don't believe that they do 

 They do come true 

 For did my dreams 

 Come true when I looked at you 

 And maybe too, if you would believe 

 You too might be Overjoyed, over loved, over me 

 And though the odds say improbable 

 What do they know 

 For in romance 

 All true love needs is a chance 

 And maybe with a chance you will find 

 You too like I 

 Overjoyed, over loved, over you, over you" 

Oh, to be able to go back in time and tell that crazy, stupid 18 year old, "this is leading nowhere good..." Knowing me, though, I wouldn't have listened.

Birthday Shuffle a Deux #5

A Different Corner - by Wham!

College.  Freshman year.  Major crush.  Broken heart.  Need I say more...?
It's one of those songs that always pulls me back in time for just a moment.

There's no real "song fact" for this song.  Some say, George Michael wrote it for a photographer he was in love with at the time.

Birthday Shuffle a Deux #4

I grew up with Elvis. He's my mom's favorite singer. I like certain Elvis songs, and this is one of only 5 that I have on my iPod. Not my favorite of them, but still a good one. Last year, "Hound Dog" was on Day 14. And, I mentioned at that time how I was glad "Lilo and Stitch" was able to bring Elvis to a new generation. His songs are fun, and I still always find myself singing along to them.

Speaking of Stitch, hubby and I are eagerly awaiting the birth of Dixie's siblings some time this month. Dixie is a red merle Australian Shepherd, and for variety, we are hoping for a blue merle male to add to our family... I want to call him Stitch. Still trying to convince the hubby... Or maybe Sylvester...?

Birthday Shuffle a Deux #3

The Way He Makes Me Feel - Barbra Streisand What can I say...? I can think of one or two, ok maybe three crushes in my life that I can totally relate this song to. I know that a lot of people dissed this movie, but I actually enjoyed it. And, who wouldn't love a naked Mandy Patinkin? Short entry, but there really isn't much more to say about this song...