#indie30 Day 28: Music and Travel

Today’s prompt: What song amps you up for travel?

I think music resonates with just about every human being on earth. You hear a song, or even a few notes and it can transport you to a moment in time *snap* just like that.

What song(s) just makes you want to pack your bags and hit the road?

I’d have to have a month to compile all of my travel songs, but these are the ones that come to mind right away:

I have to chuckle a little because this reminds me of days when I was younger and life was about working out, running, being seen in all the right hot spots and well…my priorities were just not in line with who I am today. Still, I LIVED! I had a blast and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I am grateful I can look back and smile and laugh.

My roommate put a mix together and while we’d get ready to jet off to New York City or Vegas we’d totally perform in the bathroom while we got ready to head out, singing this song using make-up brushes as our pretend microphones.

Next would have to be one of the best songs written in the history of history. How could you NOT love Gladys Knight and the Pipps’ Midnight Train to Georgia?

Why do they make you feel like traveling?
The upbeat pace. How can you not sing along? Or even dance a little? The memories of road trips, shouting these songs at the top of my lungs, of girls in a bathroom acting like rock-stars? It’s reminder that it is okay to be silly and make a fool of yourself with microphone make-up brushes and not giving a darn that people driving in cars around you think you’ve lost your mind. I totally still sing in the car. And sometimes in restaurants. Like yesterday to my husband. But that’s a tangent we don’t want to go off onto right now…

Are there any [other] songs that make you think of travels?
Absolutely.

What are they? Why do they make you think of traveling?

• There are a few. One of them, I wrote about here-clickity click. Leo Slayer’s When I Need You. It is about a man on the road and how much he misses his Love. I truly believe this is the business traveler’s theme song. I often close my eyes and sing it in my head when I am out on the road and think of the hubs.

• Being from Miami, Florida (or just anywhere in Florida) I think it is an unwritten law you have to listen to Jimmy Buffet. Guilty! Oh my gosh have I had some fun at his concerts! This song reminds me of the good parts of home and never fails to make me smile. So many of the lyrics could be an anthem for my life. I just LOVE this song. From my favorite of his albums, here is Everybody’s Gotta Cousin In Miami:

• Matchbox 20’s Bright Lights. Makes me think of friends who decided not to just dream their dreams, but live them. So they left Florida for New York and L.A. to pursue careers in the entertainment industries. They have all succeeded. Then it was my turn… and I’d say I’ve done alright. 😉 

• Which takes me to this song. The part where it says “right where we started from…” – yep. I lived in California as a kid. My dad was stationed there. I didn’t want to leave when we did. It called me back. 

• Young Sicc’s Beautiful Day in San Diego always reminds me of flying home after business travel – or just any travel. I live somewhere people visit for their vacations! How lucky am I? Such a great tribute song to America’s Finest City! You might just see me grooving to this song on the airplane through my earbuds when I’m flying home.

• And because I believe that travel is not just about trains, planes, boats and automobiles, this is my personal “journey” song. An extremely close friend sent it to me when I had resigned to live a lifestyle that would allow me remain unattached. It was a time in my life I didn’t want to allow myself to feel beyond the surface. The Eagles are my all-time favorite band. I saw them on my birthday a few years ago. There were three stars in the sky configured in a perfect triangle. During No More Cloudy Days a shooting star went right through that triangle. A few of us all looked at each other and it was just a pretty amazing moment. This song, Desperado, there really are no words worthy of what it makes me feel. At first I was angry that friend sent it to me – truth hurts. Now I’m grateful that he cared enough to speak to me through music. I just absolutely adore everything about this song.

• I’ll finish with an icon. Johnny Cash’s I’ve Been Everywhere. I think most of my friends think this is my theme song HA! And yep. I think I’ve been to just about all the places in this song (not Bangor, though…lol). No joke!