The Same Old Song

The magic of singing together—My Sunday Best #52

I remember when I got my first 45 record. It was Bobby Sherman’s Easy Come, Easy Go. The year was 1970, and I was six years old. I never got tired of that song and listened to it over and over again. I can’t tell you what was on the flip side. But I do know that singing along with Bobby made me feel good.

I’ve since learned that when we sing, our bodies release endorphins. Also, the brain loves the rhythmic patterns and the chance to predict and complete them. Singing is good medicine for the body, mind, and spirit. And when we sing with others, it gets even better.—our hearts begin to beat in unison.

At some point during every show, my husband and I play the Creedence Clearwater Revival song, Have You Ever Seen the Rain? It might seem redundant, and it’s been suggested more than once that we find a different song. However, it works, and I can’t explain why. Perhaps because the chorus is so simple, you can quickly follow along after hearing it once, even if you don't know the song. And there is something about the line, “I want to know,” that seems to trigger a deep-seated universal truth that makes people want to throw their heads back, close their eyes, and sing it out loud.

When we get close to the end of the song, we stop playing, and the crowd sings the last two choruses acapella. Even if a few people weren’t paying attention before, this moment will cause them to look up and see what is going on. When a room of people sing together, it changes everything, ushering in a sense of community and social inclusion—and people are no longer strangers. Last week at one of our happy hour gigs, a woman came in whom I hadn’t seen for quite a while. I couldn’t remember her name, but I remembered the song she requested one of the last times I saw her—Dream a Little Dream of Me by Mama Cass. A song request builds a bridge that helps me get to know someone. The songs we love are part of us. We played the song, and she smiled.

When we took a break, I learned she had been in the hospital and was currently recovering from brain surgery. She had just had the staples removed, and this was her first time out. She was with her husband, granddaughter, and grandson-in-law. She said the music helped her remember and heal. Her husband nodded his head in agreement. I was afraid the noisy atmosphere might be too much, but for three hours, she listened and smiled the entire time. And when we sang Have You Ever Seen the Rain, she sang along.

Singing the same song night after night could easily get old in a world where something new and different is always available. However, I’ll never grow tired of hearing people sing together. It reminds us that we are all in the same room together, and for two or three minutes, there is unity.

There was a point in my life when I had planned to study music therapy. I got an associate degree in preparation, but since there wasn’t a program to continue my education nearby, I went to art school instead. I guess, in a roundabout way, I did find a way to help people feel better through music.