Does Music Help You Get Through the Day?

When I thought about writing an article on how music affects me, the first thing that came to my mind was helping my mom clean the house when I was very young back in the 70s.

My mom, Ruth Ann, loved country music and her favorite singer was Loretta Lynn. She loved many others and some that come to mind are Conway Twitty, Barbara Mandrell, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, to name a few.

We would listen while we were cleaning and stop and dance a bit before we would get back to cleaning. The sad thing is that she ended up getting severe RA, and she wasn’t able to do these things anymore. So, my brothers, sister, and I continued the cleaning ritual while listening to my mom's records and 8 tracks.

Bonding with my parents

As I got older in my pre-teens and teens, my music taste changed as I would hear my older siblings listening to pop and rock. I started putting posters up and listening to artists like Michael Jackson, Prince, and Duran Duran.

As I got a little older, I started listening to Boston, Kansas, AC/DC, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, just to name a few. I loved music and loved how it could help me get through any situation or mood that I was having.

My mom and I used to have arguments in the car about what music station that we would listen to. Of course, she told me how it was her car, and she was driving, so country it was. She said when I got my own car that I could listen to whatever I wanted.

I laugh about it now because I had said to her ... "I’ll never listen to the country crap when I get my car". Later in life, I realized I love good old-fashioned country music. I appreciate the bond it gave me to my parents, and I've tried to pass that to my kids too.

Benefits of music

I love most kinds of music, with classic rock being my all-time favorite. But every once in a while, I love to crank some incredible 70s and 80s country hits. With both of my parents passing away in these past 2 years, it has really helped me feel like there is a part of them still with me.

I remember hearing at a breakout session of one of the Alpha-1 conferences about music health and they said that there are 3 major things that music can help with: reducing loneliness, influencing your mood, and decreasing pain. Who doesn't need help with that? I believe music has helped me with all 3.

Cherishing the memories

Don’t you love when a song can bring you back to a certain place in time? You can almost smell and see what was going on. There are many songs that do that for me. Any Loretta Lynn or older song can remind me of my "cleaning times" with my mom.

If I listen closely, I can hear my mom singing "Coal Miners Daughter" right now. I wish she was still here to sing with me. The song that reminds me of my dad, which you never hear that often, is "Master Jack". My dad, Jack, used to race stock cars, so everyone started calling my dad that at the racetrack because he was a skillful driver.

I sure miss those days! With the pregnancy and birth of my first son and with all of my kids, Guns and Roses’ "Sweet Child O Mine" brings me back to those days. I was pregnant with my first son when that song was first released.

Every time I hear that beginning riff, I can’t help but smile and crank up the radio. The song that brings back memories of my husband and me from when we first started dating was Slaughter’s -"Spend My Life With You". Well, most anything from the Stick It to Ya album.

Share your favorite songs

There are just too many songs to name that bring back memories of both good and bad, but I could not imagine being able to get through this crazy life without it.

What are some of your favorite songs that bring back memories for you or help you get through a tough day? Comment below, I'd love to hear them.

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