What music means to me...

My musical life

Childhood

Every day of Primary school consisted of at least a few minutes singing this with my best friend Emilie. I've known her since we were 3 and she's basically like my sister. A lot of our childhood was spent together, and even my parents have adopted her as a 6th member of the Islam family. My dad even made up up a song which goes like this: "Emilie, Emilie, you are our Family!" My family are completely mad by the way. 

Also this song means a lot to me personally. It's about freedom, and breaking free of constraints, which as an Asian girl can sometimes be a little overbearing. I've always thought of myself as a bit different to the typical Bengali female, a mould-breaker shall we say, and this song pretty much epitomises my attitude to well..life.

Early teens

This song was the anthem of my last and only visit I actually remember to Bangladesh. Those visits usually comprise of imitation Cola, strange flavoured yogurts and bugs. Lots and lots of bugs. If you need the loo in the middle of the night, honestly it's not worth your life. Picture this, pitch black in the dead of night, like WICKED DARK as a certain Lobster in Finding Nemo would say. Two potential routes to take to the bathroom, with only a small battery-powered lantern.

Route A - The short way: The door is locked from the other side. Darn.
Route B - On reaching the door, you spot a gigantic cockroach squatting directly in your path. Note: These are not the tiny little fingernail-sized cockroaches you get here in Britain. They are the size of a golf ball and can fly. The evil creature is blocking your only path to the loo, which you desperately need. So you decide to be brave and leap right over it. Guess what? A SCOUT. Everywhere you look, all the walls, every corner of the hall, there are more of its friends. You're in the corridor, and the bathroom door is all the way at the other end... Halp.

This very song was what gave us the courage to face those FOUL LOATHSOME EVIL LITTLE COCKROACH(es), and finally get to the hole in the ground. Humming or softly whisper-singing it gave us the courage to make our way treacherously through that infested corridor, and has ever since been our "Courage" song. It even kept us safe and protected when the lantern died in our hands, and both other times that night we needed the toilet!  

(^^Ok, I was in a bit of a weird movie mood, so there are some random movie references in bold capitals, sorry bout that!)

Now

So this is a romantic(ish) song, but my reasons for choosing it are not. I actually found one of my best friends who became a very important part of my life because of our mutual love for this song, and the "Jason Mraz hat" as we call it.

It has a really positive feel to it, and is upbeat and happy. The lyrics are quirky with some made-up sounds, and though not  typically/ traditionally romantic, it offers a kind of alternatively sweet message. I also associate this song with that friend, so it's an instant uplifting experience every time I hear it. The multiple times we've attempted karaoke and miserably failed. This songs has a lot of good memories to go with it, so for that reason, it's the most meaningful song to me today.