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Monday, August 15, 2011

Suitcase of memories

On Saturday, Larry Kirwan, host of Sirius XM's Celtic Crush, talked about music that reminded him of first loves. He asked who was your first love?

What a question because, you see, I've been greedy. So very greedy in love.

I met Troy when I was twelve. Before I knew what love could be.We were a pair for almost two years and the entire time, he took my breath away when I saw him walk by the window of the middle school where I attended. He was in high school, on his way to the shared cafeteria. There were hayrides, and mash sessions in the tent where the farm kids slept during the 4H Fair. Making out to The Car's in the backseat of the Ford Granada. He was dark curly hair and dark eyes, tentative, at first. I was, too. His kisses were secrets I'd write in in my diary. I still think of him when I smell hay.


Or David. Long, languid summers, daring adventures on bridges and in muddy bottoms. A growing up and growing apart I still regret sometimes because he was adorable. When we were in elementary school, he played Rudolph in the Christmas show and I fell in love with him then. I hurt him later because the world was going to be my oyster and I didn't need any ties to home.


Or the other David. The one who gave me lessons in pleasure and pain. One door opened and another slammed shut. There was no looking back from him.


Or the new David. Fireworks exploding over our first kiss like something out of a cheesy movie. Brief and breathless. Barely deserves a mention except, well, you know...


Or maybe Chris. I begged my parents to let me stay with him because going away to school scared the hell out of me. 


I adjusted. Quickly.

Craig, the guy who sang to me Waiting for a Girl Like You the first time we met, helped. He's still helping me adjust, but this time it's to middle age. We skyped last week so I could test out my microphone and webcam because I might have a skype job interview. Yes, this is the world we live in. Anyway, if you don't count my husband who is far and away my BFF, Craig is my best friend. The years show on our faces, but we can still burn through an hour without noticing because we're so busy being ridiculous, trying to make the other laugh.


See? Greedy. I didn't even tell you about Dylan (not his real name) who was a two-fer. High school and college. His song is The Rain King. Or Abdel. I can't narrow the summer of 1987 down to one song. It's the entire cassette of Cat Stevens' Greatest Hits. But especially this song.

I want know who you think about when you think of first loves. What songs trigger a memory of young love, lost love, first love?

14 comments:

  1. Lost love / a love that never was: Kate Bush - Hello Earth. A girl I'd admired from afar told me she wasn't interested. I played The Hounds of Love album afterwards and felt so alone :(

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  2. First, I gotta ask - whose bottom was muddy and why were they playing with it?

    "Waiting for a girl like you" - I know, I know, but Holly and I kissed for the first time dancing to that song and she was a first in a lot of ways . . .

    "Rocket Man" because Cecilia loved Elton John and the Monkees. Had she been in a slightly different mood, I might associate "Daydream Believer" or "Last Train to Clarksville" with my First Time.

    I was on a Julia Fordham kick in the early 90's, so for me and Kim, it was "Your Lovely Face" and it was so true.

    Funny enough, my wife and I don't have "a" song, although that really sappy "I'll Still Be Loving You" by Restless Heart is true, as much as I hate to admit it.

    I wish sometimes I had a better soundtrack . . .

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  4. I loved the bands that you fell in love to. Rick Ocasek was one of the sexiest nerds I've ever laid eyes on and New England was a great place to see the Cars as well as Blondie , Cyndi Lauper and many more. Thought I'd never see the Kinks but we did several times. The Ramones too - first in NYC at CBGB's (because nobody went there early on you could get a seat). Didn't you fall in love to any of their songs?

    However, I'm a little older than you and I'd have to leave a very long comment if I wanted to list the related band memories to early loves but here are a few favorites songs.

    The Supremes - baby love

    Booker T. and the MG's - green onions

    Ray Charles - what'd I say?

    Dion and the Belmonts - runaround sue

    Good luck with the Skype interview.

    Sorry about the re-post but I'd flubbed a link - getting older ain't all great :-)

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  5. Sometimes I've associated a song with a person but the memory of which song goes with which person tends to fade as the person fades. Although I can still be brought to tears by the Righteous Brothers version of "Unchained Melody" for reasons related to first seeing Ghost on the plane returning from a visit.

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  6. My first love was a cowboy. We slow danced to Eddie Rabbit ("I love a rainy night!") in his snug NYC apartment. I love that we're still friends.

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  7. The summer of Elton John's Madman Across the Water - his name was Stu. Tall, dark curly hair, tan and broad shouldered from water polo and lifeguarding.

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  8. I think of The Chain by Fleetwood Mac, and my first boyfriend, the security guard at Sears, who always wore a plain white tee-shirt and a well-filled-out pair of faded Levis.

    Oh, Ron. Why wouldn't you love me?

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  9. I have an "unloved" story. My high school pals thought they should fix me up with Don.
    I was tall, he was tall, that should have worked out, right?
    Well it turns out Don did not like me because I was a little overweight. He never bothered to call.
    About a year later, I had a knee surgery & lost a bunch of weight. He saw me again & thought I was *hot*, and was then interested in me.
    Yea well screw him! I was hot & Don was not.
    Would have told him to kiss my ass, but he had no access pass!

    I had been largely unlucky in love, went through lots of "frogs", till I met my prince.
    Two kids later & about to celebrate 24 years of marriage, he is a gem of a guy, AND he puts up with me. Perhaps eligible for sainthood?

    Grateful Dead~ Not Fade Away

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkI50SnewOE&feature=related

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  10. Lisa - what a blast from the past - The Cars, Cyndy Lauper, Breakfast Club . . .

    Summer camp, first slow dance - Crimson and Clover - sweet memories.

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  11. "I wish you were a beer" by Cycle Sluts from Hell reminds me of Dennis. It was our song.

    We were not in love, but we loved the heck out of messing with each other's heads. Fast forward almost 20 years: We're both married to others, and we still love the heck (platonic) out of each other.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeuNckmt7h8

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  12. "Baby I Love Your Way." Peter Frampton. Nuff said.

    I don't want to remember anything else about him. No reason - he just isn't that significant in my memory. It wasn't love, obviously. But I thought it was at the time and we had a song.

    But then life moved on and along came "Helplessly Hoping..."

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  13. Anything from the first two Fleetwood Mac albums (yes, ALBUMS, those plastic kind) that featured the Lindsey Buckingham-Stevie Nicks incarnation of the band (in other words, when they lost the blues and got bland). Very big during my high school romance days with my first true love. Sadly, I learned a couple years back, via a contact I made with her daughter on our high school's alumni association page, that my sweetheart had died of cancer in 2002. I can't listen to any of those songs now, even after all this time. I just change the station.

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  14. Such an awesome list of 70's and 80's songs. The Cars, Simple Minds, Led Zeppelin.

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