Over Memorial Day weekend, a good friend of mine flew out to see Kenny Chesney in concert. She’d just been here in February, but Kenny has long been her favorite and her birthday was that weekend. She told me, “Kenny wants me here.” Who am I to argue with her?
The show was amazing – he’s truly an entertainer. He sounded fantastic and engaged with the audience regularly. Which is something some artists don’t bother with, and others try and fail at. However, this post isn’t so much about Kenny, but something that happened to me during the show.
My friend’s favorite song is “Old Blue Chair”, something that he doesn’t perform live much these days. Mine has been “Anything But Mine” since the first time I heard it all those years ago. Neither of us had expected him to play these songs because hers was never a single, and mine was just really old. (Heavens, I just looked and it released in 2004.)
Anyway, about halfway through the show, he stops to tell the audience that the next song hadn’t originally been on the playlist, but he’d gotten a request, so he was going to do it – and it turned out to be “Old Blue Chair”. Sometime after the first chorus, I burst into tears. I don’t know why, but there I was, sobbing.
During his encore, Kenny so kindly played “Anything But Mine”, during which, I burst into tears a second time. This song, however, always gets me emotional. So, it wasn’t such a surprise that it had stirred so much feeling within me. Thankfully, he ended the set with “American Kids” which is fun and upbeat so I didn’t leave looking like I’d just been in a fight.
This did get me thinking of all the times I’ve been brought to tears by a song.
“Who You’d Be Today”, also by Kenny Chesney, gets me every time. First time I’d ever heard it was days after learning a good friend had fallen asleep at the wheel and crashed his truck, dying in the accident.
“Andy (I Can’t Live Without You)” by Ashley McBryde gets me as well. It’s her calling out her partner for all his faults but also admitting that she loves him despite it all. This is the kind of song that probably resonates with anyone who has ever been in a long-term relationship. Because even when you have a fantastic partner, they still drive you crazy at times.
I’ll probably get teased about this, but “If Everyone Cared” by Nickelback hits me like a brick if I haven’t heard it in a while. Especially now, with all the craziness in the world. I think we could all use a little bit more empathy for others.
How about you? Are you a sap like I am who cries at random songs (and occasional commercials)? What song has moved you to feel things strongly, even if it didn’t bring you to tears?
Since I’m about to embark on another road trip in a couple of weeks, I’ve been doing a lot of internet searching on things to keep my friend and myself from getting bored on the drive. I’m still relatively new to this road tripping thing, so I definitely needed a bit of inspiration. Especially since, when we did this when I was a kid, I’d sit in the back with my cassette Walkman (dating myself here) and a book. But you can’t really do that when you’re the one driving.
We all probably remember what we wanted to be when we grew up. Some of us wanted to be doctors or astronauts or cowboys even. Me, I wanted to be a teacher. Then, I got older and was hit with the realization that I a) did not explain things well and b) did not have the patience to teach.
