My dad- "Forever in Blue Jeans"

My dad's been on my mind a lot lately. 

A LOT!

 I'm not sure why but he seems to creep in when I least expect it. Like a welcome visitor that you haven't seen in years but can't stop and chat with because life is in the way. Maybe it's because I know he would be so proud of 

Carsen for getting into nursing school and 

Shane going to Sac State. 

Maybe it's because our birthdays are just a month away.

 I don't know. I often wonder what he would be like now. How he would have changed? 

I envision him in my mind because I have nothing else. 

Death does that, you know. 

Leaves you with nothing but memories and an imagination. 

Some of the memories I have are starting to fade. And then I start to wonder, "is this a memory or my imagination?" But, some are so vivid they could have happened yesterday. 

I recently had to make a presentation for a music class I'm taking. It wasn't anything major or elaborate but I was still having a hard time with it. We had to present a song to the class that most people in the class wouldn't know. That part was going to be easy. I could pick just about any song from my high school days and my guess not a single person in the class, including the professor would  know it. 

There isn't a single person over 30 in that class. 

This will be one of those flashback moments that happen in movies to help explain the current plot of the story :)

I started on my BA in counseling psychology in January 2011. I was scheduled to graduate August 2012. As graduation approached I realized I was short 21 units!!! Yes, you read that right, 21. It turns out that several classes I took straight out of high school did not qualify and in order to graduate with my cohort I would need to make up those units by December 31, 2012. So, in order to accomplish that goal I'm taking a ridiculous amount of classes, 2 of which are at the community college. Most of the people in this particular class are under 24 and give the impression they are only there to appease someone else.

OK, back to the story

I was probably making too big of a deal out of this assignment. It was quite simple, play the song, give details about the song and allow people to ask questions. The problem was every song I picked didn't seem right. 

It was quite maddening.

 I had several very hard and much more important papers due in other classes. I just needed to pick a damn song and get it over with. So as I was searching my memory banks for songs from my past; Dad decided to come for a visit. He didn't stay long, just long enough to plant a seed. 

I argued with myself for a few days over the song that came to my mind, it was corny. It was old. No one would have heard it but I was also convinced that no one would even want to listen to it. 

Why was I so worried about what a bunch of people I'd never see again think about this song? 

I finally realized it was because it was my dad's FAVORITE song. 

It was important. 

I was going to bare my soul. I was going to share my dad with this group. I needed for them to understand WHY I picked this corny song from the 70's. 

As I started writing I realized deep down it didn't matter what anyone thought. I realized it stopped being about getting an A and more about another expression of love for my dad. As I read my short paper I realized they were all listening, not just hearing, but truly listening. Most were nodding their heads and smiling. They "got it". And when I played dad's song they listened. 

I rarely (never) let anyone read papers I write for school.

  

Especially those I write for a beginning music class at the community college. It's not scholarly. It's not technical. It doesn't shed light on an important psychological subject. But, it is me. 

So I'm going to be brave.

 I'm going to take the advice of my good friend Lauren and put stuff out there.

 It might be exactly what someone else needs to see. 

Or it might only be for me.

“Forever in Blue Jeans”

Written and preformed

By

Neil Diamond

            Neil Diamond born January 24, 1941, is a singer, song writer that began his career in the early 1960’s. He had his first number one hit in 1970, with “Cracklin Rosie” (A&E Networks, 2012). “Forever in Blue Jeans” was released by Columbia Records in 1978 on the album You Don’t Bring Me Flowers. The album was produced by Bob Gaudio (Wikipedia, 2012). Diamond went on to have several number 1 hits and at the age of 71 continues to perform live several times a month.

            I would assume that most people younger than 40 do not know Neil Diamond, however they probably do know songs written by him. One of these songs is “I’m a Believer”, which was named the Popular Music Song of the Year in 1966 (Wikipedia, 2012). Diamond originally wrote and recorded the song for himself but the TV-comedy quartet The Monkees released their version first. Smash Mouth and Eddie Murphy covered “I’m a Believer” in 2001 for the movie Shrek (IMDb, 2012). Other notable artists that have recorded Diamond songs include; Elvis Presley, Deep Purple and UB40. Diamonds song “Sweet Caroline” has what could be considered a cult following. At every Boston College football game it is sung as a sing along during the game, it is played during the 8^th inning of every New York Mets home games and the New York Rangers also play it at the end of the 3^rd period. Sadly Penn State has banned the song from football games “because the lyrics have been deemed inappropriate ... in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal” (TMZ, 2012).

            I was raised listening to Neil Diamond. He was my dad’s favorite artist. I can remember my dad yelling from the other room, “turn it up” when a song by Neil Diamond would come on the radio. My dad had a great voice and would often sing along. When I hear Neil Diamond I think of my dad. Music has a way of doing that. Country artist Kenny Chesney’s song “I Go Back” talks about the power a song has on us. The lyric “Every time I hear that song, I go back” says it all. “Forever in Blue Jeans” is one of those songs for me. I can close my eyes and go back to being 12 years old, sitting in the front seat of my dad’s Ford Bronco with the windows down, wind whipping my hair around, seeing my dad reach for the radio dial to turn it up and hearing him say, “come on Gail, sing with me!” My dad died 15 years ago. These memories are all I have left.

While searching for songs for this project I realized I’m actually not a fan of Neil Diamond. But, I still like listening to him. It’s hard to explain but I think Eric Church in the song “Springsteen” says it best, “funny how a melody sounds like a memory.” It’s not always about the artist or the song itself that draws us in but it’s the lasting memory the song has left on our hearts.

Works Cited

A&E Networks. (2012). Neil Diamond Biography. Retrieved from biography.com: http://www.biography.com/people/neil-diamond-9273707

IMDb. (2012). Soundtracks for Shrek. Retrieved from IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0126029/soundtrack

TMZ. (2012, August 27). PENN STATE. Retrieved from TMZ: http://www.tmz.com/2012/08/27/penn-state-football-jerry-sandusky-sweet-caroline-banned-neil-diamond/

Wikipedia. (2012). September Morn (Album). Retrieved from wikipedia.com: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_Morn_(album)