All from the Memory of a Song

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

         Hardly a waking hour goes by when music doesn’t cross my mind. It is entwined in nearly everything I do and everything I am. It has been there as I have worked through the years. It has been there during painful moments, as well as happy ones. And it has been there to simply color the days I have lived in.

         So, it has always struck me as a little bit odd when I talk with someone who doesn't pay attention to the music playing around them. Instead, their world centers on something else. They may be into NASCAR, or football, or golf, or whatever. I have been to gatherings with other parents. We might be sitting on a porch or near a pool, and I try to find something that we might have in common. As I listen to them talking, I find myself beginning to drift off as they talk about their latest conquest on a golf course somewhere. I do my best to stay engaged, but I’d be lying if I said I don’t hear white noise. 

Scott Coner (Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions)

         I don’t mean to sound judgmental. It’s just the difference in people. In truth, I probably should have bought some khakis and learned how to play golf, living vicariously through some overpriced pro football team. But that's not my thing. I would never want to waste a beautiful Sunday afternoon sitting inside somewhere watching a ball game when I could instead be outside in the sun or the shade laughing, reading, or relaxing. When I do, there will be a melody playing in the background somewhere close.

         I suppose I allowed music to attach itself to me because it was something I could enjoy alone or with others. It gives me something to appreciate. It allows me the opportunity to think, to write, to listen, and to remember. In truth, the classic music is like some kind of memory card I can bring out to think about moments that have long since past. I remember dancing with our oldest daughter when she was just a little bitty girl in our living room. She would put her little sock feet on top of mine and hold me so tight as we danced to “Rocket Man”. I also remember our youngest little girl sitting in her car seat mimicking “beat” noises to a Ben Harper song before she could even talk. Those songs, those memories are tucked away in my mind and my heart. I hope to always have them to re-live as the years go past me. 

         This seems odd to say, but I have written songs of my own that have memories attached to them. When I first met my wife, she was working at a label in Brentwood, Tennessee. She and I took a drive on our first evening together just outside of Nashville and listened to an album I had just completed. In doing this, the entire album took on a new and magical meaning to me. I remember being excited and a little bit nervous for her to hear the project. It was my second album, but this time it was my sound instead of some producer calling the shots. In a way, it was a deeply personal moment she and I were able to share very early on in our relationship. I remember driving away from her that night and feeling like I could fly. Those feelings are still in between all of the grooves of those old songs for me. Even today, when I hear “Taylorsville Angel”, I still think of that night. I think of her beauty and her sweetness.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO SCOTT CONER'S SONG, 

TAYLORSVILLE ANGEL

 

         So, I suppose even though music is what I do, it’s also what holds my world together. It has been the backdrop of so much in my life there is no way I can cover it all. Some people remember what they were wearing on a certain important day. I will surely remember what song was being played. I’ll remember the joy or the sadness. I’ll remember the feeling of falling in love with my wife or how much I love my daughters. And I can do it all from the memory of a song. 

         Scott Coner is a country singer-songwriter who has worked in the studio with legendary artists such as Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown and Charlie Daniels. You can learn more about him and hear his music at www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer, and www.ScottConer.com. Follow Scott at www.Twitter.com/ScottConer.