On Tuesday I was grading my students' tests, and I decided I needed something unquestionably happy to listen to. For some reason (it's probably not a coincidence that this happened on a Tuesday), the first thing that came to mind was a CD that had been sitting in the center compartment of my car, one of those voids in my personal space where things where things, once placed, become easily forgotten.
I love getting CDs from friends and family. It makes me feel loved, and it also means I get great new music for free, and this makes me really, really happy. And I by no means wish to downplay all the thought that has gone into the music that many of you, my readers, have given me in the recent or more distant past. I have loved it all. But the CD that holds the most special place in my heart is a CD that my friend Sara R. burned for me last summer of the soundtrack to Follow That Bird.
I consider Follow That Bird to be one of the greatest children's movies of all time, but there is nothing objective about this claim. VCRs weren't yet widespread technology when I was young, so I don't have early memories of popping in Disney tapes like my sister's age group does. Follow That Bird, which came out when I was about 5 years old, is one of my very first meaningful movie memories. It was exactly the right movie that came at exactly the right time for me to really, truly appreciate it.
My family had a record (yup, a record) of the Follow That Bird soundtrack, and a tape too, I think. I would listen to it over and over and over (and over and over) again, and in fact, this is my first memory of listening to anything over and over again. (There are a lot of firsts associated with this movie.) When you listen to something ten million times as an adult, you eventually get sick of it. But when you listen to something ten million times as a young child, it becomes permanently etched in your memory as some of the greatest music ever written. When I popped the CD into my CD player on my way home from Sara's the day she burned it for me, I had probably not listened to the songs for almost two decades, and I was amazed to find that I could still sing along to almost every one of them, from the Grouch Anthem, to Upside-Down World, to Easygoing Day. I can't remember a time in my life when rediscovering some music made me so happy.
The CD never made it out of my car and therefore was never burned onto my computer or transferred onto any of my iPod playlists. I think that's for the best. Now that I've re-rediscovered it and listened to it a couple times and sung the songs in the shower and felt just excessively cheerful about the whole thing, I think I will conveniently misplace the CD again for awhile, and allow myself the excitement of rediscovering (or re-re-rediscovering?) it again in a year or two or five.
In the meantime, I thought I'd share what has always been my favorite song from the soundtrack. Alas, the sound is completely out of sync on the only clip I could find on YouTube, so don't watch, just listen. But do listen. This is the best motivational song that has ever been written. I mean it. It's one of the very few overtly uplifting, motivational songs that actually makes me feel genuinely uplifted and motivated. You're right, Waylon Jennings, once I set my heart to moving on, there is no road too long.
3 comments:
My biggest memory of Follow That Bird is a part where they are putting their suitcases inside the yellow VW Beetle, and instead of putting them in the trunk, they stash them under the hood. I was mesmerized by the car that apparently had no engine.
I remember seeing that movie with you in the theater. Dad and I enjoyed it just as much as you did. Funny that "Follow That Bird" is such a little known classic. We'll have to get a copy of it!
I keep inviting my friends to come over and watch Follow that Bird, but all I get are blank stares. I always assumed everyone my age grew up with that movie, but I was clearly wrong.
By the way, can you send me a copy of the album? I've had my favorite song--the Grouch Anthem--in my head all week. Now there's a song that motivates and uplifts me.
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