Relative Something

Recently I have become increasingly aware of when the sounds of a song show up in my head, seemingly out of nowhere (see “earworm“). Oftentimes, it turns out to simply be a result of walking into the boss’s office where there is music playing quietly in the background. I never seem to realize it is even on, distracted by the task at hand. But then, shortly afterward, as I tend to the next thing demanding my attention, I realize I am whistling some song that often happens to be something I would never choose to be whistling.

There have been enough other times, when I have absolutely no idea what could have triggered a particular song, that I have developed an interest in pinpointing the very first moment I become aware that such a song is in my head. It is a research project in its infancy. Don’t expect the results to be published any time soon.

Last night, as I was doing a quick tour down through my iTunes song list, I discovered that, as I passed by the name of each artist, one of their songs immediately appeared in my head. It was freaky. The songs weren’t always an obvious favorite, just an instant association that arrived as my eye caught the name scrolling past.

When I got to Bruce Cockburn, the song that popped into my head was “Live On My Mind” from his CD, “The Charity of Night.” It is a love song.

It’s your eyes I want to see

   looking into mine

got you live on my mind

       all the time

This month, Cyndie and I are approaching our 30th wedding anniversary. Most of the time, we collaborate on a joint gift for our anniversary. This year, in light of the pending 1,450 miles that will separate our living quarters, we selected a pair of iPad 2’s that will provide convenient visual communication. We ordered them online and are anticipating delivery on the actual day of our anniversary.

I fully expect that it will be her “eyes I want to see” in the year ahead…