A neighbor of mine needed some assistance in picking up furniture. We
were driving towards the furniture outlet. His radio was playing a
song by Foreigner. I noticed my neighbor was humming the lyrics with
the radio. We reached a gas station by the time the song finished
playing. He stopped for the fuel while I picked up a lottery ticket.
I thought perhaps, my noise making could award me the monetary
towards idleness.
When we returned to the road, my neighbor turned on the radio – the earlier song from Foreigner was playing again. In the past, I had experienced that sometimes when I would switch radio stations, two stations would play the same song. But, in consecutive order – as if they were exchanging the songs from same jukebox.
I noticed again that my neighbor was lip synching with the song on the radio. Couple of minutes later song finished. After a pause, the song started again for the third time.
“Are you playing off your iPod?” I asked.
“Yes Jay, this is my favorite song. I have set the repeat function on, so that I can hear this song over and over and over. You know how there are some songs to which you feel completely attached, as if it were written for you. For me, this is the one, I can't just stop singing this song,” he replied.
He switched the radio channel to his media player. He traversed through the list of albums stopping at the Complete Greatest Hits.
“See this here – I love Foreigner...how true for us,” he added.
That made sense, for a minute I imagined if the radio stations have decided to call all foreigners for duty. Although, my neighbor has been a citizen for a long time. His accent had not changed.
“Why this song?” I asked curiously.
“Well Jay...here I will show you,” he replied. He fiddled with his iPod. He moved the song to exact position where he wanted it to start and played...
“...In my life there's been heartache and pain...”
He sang the lyrics as it played.
“Jay! This is the reason. So true! I migrated to this country as a student. I worked part time while studying. Then I got a job in a museum. But, my student loan was high. I started working a second job then third job. It took me five years to pay off the loan. Jay! all those years I lived frugally. I did not have any fun. It was all work. The loan kept me awake at night. I was always worried about paying it off. Then, once that loan was paid off, I got married. Wonder what Jay! (I wondered what?) We decided to buy a house. There, I took another loan. This loan was for thirty years Jay! Thirty years! Both me and my wife worked hard to pay this loan off. We had three kids. They joined college. Boy, tuition fees were so high. So, we took another loan. It has been a never ending cycle, Jay. At the end of the day, my body is in pain because of working two jobs. I have heart aches seeing my wife juggle between work and keeping up with the kids. There is no rest Jay, no rest. And then I hear this song, so true...,” explained my neighbor as he turned the volume up for the song was being played fifth time.
“...I gotta take a little time...take a little time to think things over...” the song played, and my neighbor paused the song wiping tears from his eyes,
“So True Jay! So True!”
I got worried about his emotional state. Considering that he was driving on the highway, and I was sitting on the passenger side. It was a risky state. One particular advertisement from an auto-insurance company flashed on my mind, where how a driver, under emotions, rammed the car into an electric pole. I started looking out of the window trying to calculate which highway structure would become my departure point.
“Do you have any such favorite song?” asked my neighbor. Thankfully his emotions were in control. I had survived.
After a brief pause, I replied to him that I was a fan of Pink Floyd.
“Jay there must be one song...that one song, which you could relate your self to?” he insisted me to answer.
I could not recall any as there were many notable songs from Pink Floyd. So the title that came first to my mind was “Comfortably Numb”.
“Oh Jay! You should visit a doctor. That is a very depressing song, Jay!”
I assured him that I was alright. The song had no relationship with my persona. Although, at the back of my head I was thinking about going numb if we had a crash.
“Jay, it is good to know that you are alright. You live by yourself in that large house of yours. You should get married now, it is time Jay,” he advised.
Like many of my well wishers, he heeded sound advice, but none had suggested a date yet. I promised him that I would tie a knot soon. I did not want him to lose his emotions again.
He turned on his iPod and starting singing out loud. I had heard the phrase practice makes the man perfect. However, today I had witnessed the same. He sang exactly like Lou Gramm the lead vocalist of Foreigner. I congratulated him on such a melodious voice.
“No Jay, I do not have a good voice. It is only this song, when I sing it...as if Lou comes in my voice and sings...it is definitely not me...Jay!”
I wished if Adam Levine from the television show “The Voice” (and lead singer of Maroon band) could have been here. My neighbor would have unquestionably qualified for team Levine.
He continued singing, “...Can't stop now...I've traveled so far...change this lonely life...I wanna know what luck is...”
When he recited the last line, I stopped him. He was my friend, and I did not want him to get embarrassed, in case he did decide to join the cast of Voice.
“What Jay, why did you stop me?”
“The last line of the song you sang...what luck is...”
“Yes...that is what they sing...I want to know what (good) luck is?”
I requested him to hear the lyrics carefully. So he tuned on the media player, repositioned the song cursor, and played.
“Jay, I don't understand what you are trying to say. He sang...what luck is...”
I told him that this was a love song. I directed him towards the title of the song. It read “I want to know what love is”.
“Oooo! What love is...I have been singing what luck is...” he started laughing.
He thanked me for correcting him. I wondered if this song would remain his favorite.
“Off course Jay! I am a Foreigner fan. I am a foreigner, and I will continue to love this song. Good thing is that now my wife cannot shut me up when I sing this song,” he replied.
I questioned him why would his wife not get mad.
“Well, I will tell her that...honey I am singing this song for you...(and he started singing out loud)...I want to know what love is...”
(References: The Thing, Make A Big Noise)
When we returned to the road, my neighbor turned on the radio – the earlier song from Foreigner was playing again. In the past, I had experienced that sometimes when I would switch radio stations, two stations would play the same song. But, in consecutive order – as if they were exchanging the songs from same jukebox.
I noticed again that my neighbor was lip synching with the song on the radio. Couple of minutes later song finished. After a pause, the song started again for the third time.
“Are you playing off your iPod?” I asked.
“Yes Jay, this is my favorite song. I have set the repeat function on, so that I can hear this song over and over and over. You know how there are some songs to which you feel completely attached, as if it were written for you. For me, this is the one, I can't just stop singing this song,” he replied.
He switched the radio channel to his media player. He traversed through the list of albums stopping at the Complete Greatest Hits.
“See this here – I love Foreigner...how true for us,” he added.
That made sense, for a minute I imagined if the radio stations have decided to call all foreigners for duty. Although, my neighbor has been a citizen for a long time. His accent had not changed.
“Why this song?” I asked curiously.
“Well Jay...here I will show you,” he replied. He fiddled with his iPod. He moved the song to exact position where he wanted it to start and played...
“...In my life there's been heartache and pain...”
He sang the lyrics as it played.
“Jay! This is the reason. So true! I migrated to this country as a student. I worked part time while studying. Then I got a job in a museum. But, my student loan was high. I started working a second job then third job. It took me five years to pay off the loan. Jay! all those years I lived frugally. I did not have any fun. It was all work. The loan kept me awake at night. I was always worried about paying it off. Then, once that loan was paid off, I got married. Wonder what Jay! (I wondered what?) We decided to buy a house. There, I took another loan. This loan was for thirty years Jay! Thirty years! Both me and my wife worked hard to pay this loan off. We had three kids. They joined college. Boy, tuition fees were so high. So, we took another loan. It has been a never ending cycle, Jay. At the end of the day, my body is in pain because of working two jobs. I have heart aches seeing my wife juggle between work and keeping up with the kids. There is no rest Jay, no rest. And then I hear this song, so true...,” explained my neighbor as he turned the volume up for the song was being played fifth time.
“...I gotta take a little time...take a little time to think things over...” the song played, and my neighbor paused the song wiping tears from his eyes,
“So True Jay! So True!”
I got worried about his emotional state. Considering that he was driving on the highway, and I was sitting on the passenger side. It was a risky state. One particular advertisement from an auto-insurance company flashed on my mind, where how a driver, under emotions, rammed the car into an electric pole. I started looking out of the window trying to calculate which highway structure would become my departure point.
“Do you have any such favorite song?” asked my neighbor. Thankfully his emotions were in control. I had survived.
After a brief pause, I replied to him that I was a fan of Pink Floyd.
“Jay there must be one song...that one song, which you could relate your self to?” he insisted me to answer.
I could not recall any as there were many notable songs from Pink Floyd. So the title that came first to my mind was “Comfortably Numb”.
“Oh Jay! You should visit a doctor. That is a very depressing song, Jay!”
I assured him that I was alright. The song had no relationship with my persona. Although, at the back of my head I was thinking about going numb if we had a crash.
“Jay, it is good to know that you are alright. You live by yourself in that large house of yours. You should get married now, it is time Jay,” he advised.
Like many of my well wishers, he heeded sound advice, but none had suggested a date yet. I promised him that I would tie a knot soon. I did not want him to lose his emotions again.
He turned on his iPod and starting singing out loud. I had heard the phrase practice makes the man perfect. However, today I had witnessed the same. He sang exactly like Lou Gramm the lead vocalist of Foreigner. I congratulated him on such a melodious voice.
“No Jay, I do not have a good voice. It is only this song, when I sing it...as if Lou comes in my voice and sings...it is definitely not me...Jay!”
I wished if Adam Levine from the television show “The Voice” (and lead singer of Maroon band) could have been here. My neighbor would have unquestionably qualified for team Levine.
He continued singing, “...Can't stop now...I've traveled so far...change this lonely life...I wanna know what luck is...”
When he recited the last line, I stopped him. He was my friend, and I did not want him to get embarrassed, in case he did decide to join the cast of Voice.
“What Jay, why did you stop me?”
“The last line of the song you sang...what luck is...”
“Yes...that is what they sing...I want to know what (good) luck is?”
I requested him to hear the lyrics carefully. So he tuned on the media player, repositioned the song cursor, and played.
“Jay, I don't understand what you are trying to say. He sang...what luck is...”
I told him that this was a love song. I directed him towards the title of the song. It read “I want to know what love is”.
“Oooo! What love is...I have been singing what luck is...” he started laughing.
He thanked me for correcting him. I wondered if this song would remain his favorite.
“Off course Jay! I am a Foreigner fan. I am a foreigner, and I will continue to love this song. Good thing is that now my wife cannot shut me up when I sing this song,” he replied.
I questioned him why would his wife not get mad.
“Well, I will tell her that...honey I am singing this song for you...(and he started singing out loud)...I want to know what love is...”
(References: The Thing, Make A Big Noise)
No comments:
Post a Comment