Listen to the music

I feel as if life has been a bit of a dark storm the past couple of weeks. We are inundated with news about our kidnapped civilians, our soldiers, the wounded, and the funerals. At times, I feel as if my heart is breaking from the gravity of it all. I try to lift my spirits by grabbing a coffee and a hug with dear friends. I go to engagement parties and weddings, and I am uplifted and inspired. Yet, the gravity returns. Only music keeps me sane.

As I drudgingly coached my dog and myself out for a morning walk in the frigid rainstorm outside, I clicked on my Spotify app. (God, if you are reading: Thank you for this app, it is a Godsend, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart). And, as I always do, I clicked on a random playlist. “I want ’70s today” I said to myself. Born in 1972, the ’70s music was what I imbibed in the womb, and comforted me until I became a teenager. But, now…as a grownup… music is comforting me again.

And, there it was…The Doobie Brothers “Listen to the Music.” The song itself was written in 1972 by Tom Johnston for Warner Brothers on an album titled Toulouse Street. When Johnston was asked why he wrote the song he said it was a call for world peace. He said: “The chord structure of it made me think of something positive, so the lyrics that came out of that were based on this utopian idea that if the leaders of the world got together on some grassy hill somewhere and either smoked enough dope or just sat down and just listened to the music and forgot about all this other bull*#2! [sic.], the world would be a much better place. It was very utopian and very unrealistic (laughs). It seemed like a good idea at the time.” (Mastropolo, Frank, interview November 2012).

The song was a reaction to Vietnam, as well as the wars in the Middle East and Asia at the time. It was a cry for taking a moment to stop, breathe and just listen. Johnston wanted people to aim towards a peaceful utopia. Somehow when he reflected upon the song, later in life, he thought that it was unrealistic, though.

The irony is that today, this song speaks to me on so many levels. The words are simple but profound:

“Listen To The Music,” The Doobie Brothers (1972), produced by Ted Templeman, Warner Brothers Music