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Back in the fourth grade, our daughter Chasity began learning and playing violin in the Jamestown School District, something she continued until her graduation from Jamestown High School.
Now, I love music. I love playing "Who Sang This" with Sally when songs from the 50s through the present are aired on the Sirius XM, and 77WABC (Cousin Brucie) stations we listen to on our trips to Cleveland, Tennessee, Virginia, and anywhere else we may be traveling. I have to say, though, that growing up. Even in early adulthood, I was never one to listen to much Classical Music. My dad loved Big Bands Music, Sinatra, etc. He enjoyed Classical Orchestra Music too, so I heard Dad's genres of music, but growing up in the 50s and 60s, I set my radio dials to more of the music of my generation during those decades. In my mid-late twenties, my musical tastes grew to include the relaxing sounds of Buffett, Denver, Diamond, Elton, some Country, Pop, etc., and Classical (after Chas started playing the violin.)
Something we often told our children, as our parents taught us, that sometimes growing older (not necessarily up), our worlds expand and things we didn't think we liked to listen to, eat, watch, wear, etc., might start to take a hold of us, and we might begin to like them. Such was the case for me with Classical Music, thanks to Chasy, and her talent with strings and bow. One number we listened to often as she practiced at home (after the first year of hearing, "Go Tell Aunt Rhody"), was the "Canon in D," also referred to as "Pachelbel's Canon." To this day, I've come to love this musical piece, and I get emotional when hearing it performed in many different styles, because it reminds me of how well Chas played, and how much she enjoyed playing, especially in her time with the JHS and JOY Orchestras.
I enjoy it played anytime by conventional orchestras, or at Christmastimes while attending (or watching the video of) the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (this December will mark our ninth TSO concert) hearing their beautiful rendition they call the "Christmas Canon." I enjoy hearing it played at weddings we attend, and as musical pieces in church choirs. No matter which rendition of "Canon in D," I hear, it always reminds me of sitting in the living room after dinner, hearing Chasity playing it upstairs as part of her practice routine. A lot of Chasity's playing, and some influence from listening to Dad's music on the radio as we took trips (short or long), or our Sunday family rides covering parts of Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Warren Counties, or just driving around during Christmas Seasons admiring neighborhood light displays, made me reach where I am today, a real enjoyer of Classical Music.
In our lives, we, and I (and I know it's the same for many others, too) have gone through much stress and grieving, having had loved ones (family, friends who are like family, friends through work, from neighborhoods, friends shared at Church, in Interest Groups, and past friends from school, or childhood), develop illnesses, or pass away from this earth. During our married years, Sally and I have bid farewell to all four of our parents, during the past two years we've each said good-bye to a sibling, many of our relatives and friends have suffered/are suffering with medical maladies, friends/colleagues have passed away, and I sometimes feel like I have, or should have, my own parking space at local funeral homes in and around Jamestown. It's been hard for all of us, and you, to see loved ones and friends suffer, feel pain, and/or move from this earth to their Eternal Home. Which brings the VFTB to one of the latest renditions of the "Canon in D."
In 2021, Musical Group, Maroon 5, put out a new version of "Pachelbel's Canon" titled, "Memories." It has been performed by the group itself, by choirs, choruses, remotely by individual school children's choruses with Director(s), and individual performers. The melody's the same, some words are sometimes tweaked from Maroon 5's version to a more youthful version (see parenthesis below), but the feelings never change for me. Every rendition brings me back to Chasy from grades four to twelve, and the words of Maroon Five have become my individual and personal sendoff to those whom I've lost, but who will live in my heart and mind forever. (The first 2 stanzas of Maroon 5's youth rendition has become our weekly game day toast for passed-on members of the Browns Backers of Jamestown, N.Y..) Maybe it can be a gathering toast for all of us during family/friends' gatherings.
Visit YouTube and sing along when you need to think of some of the loved ones from your life.
"Memories"
"Here’s to the ones that we got
Cheers to the wish you were here, but you’re not
‘Cause the drinks (dreams) bring back all the memories
Of everything we’ve been through
Toast to the ones here today
Toast to the ones that we lost on the way
‘Cause the drinks (dreams) bring back all the memories
And the memories bring back, memories bring back you
There’s a time that I remember, when I did not know no pain
When I believed in forever, and everything would stay the same
Now my heart feel like December when somebody say your name
‘Cause I can’t reach out to call you, but I know I will one day, yeah
Everybody hurts sometimes
Everybody hurts someday, ayy ayy
But everything gon’ be alright
Go and raise a glass and say, ayy
Here’s to the ones that we got
Cheers to the wish you were here, but you’re not
‘Cause the drinks (dreams) bring back all the memories
Of everything we’ve been through
Toast to the ones here today
Toast to the ones that we lost on the way
‘Cause the drinks (dreams) bring back all the memories
And the memories bring back, memories bring back you
Doo doo, doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo
Memories bring back, memories bring back you
There’s a time that I remember when I never felt so lost
When I felt all of the hatred was too powerful to stop (ooh, yeah)
Now my heart feel like an ember and it’s lighting up the dark
I’ll carry these torches for ya that you know I’ll never drop, yeah
Everybody hurts sometimes
Everybody hurts someday, ayy ayy
But everything gon’ be alright
Go and raise a glass and say, ayy
Here’s to the ones that we got (oh)
Cheers to the wish you were here, but you’re not
‘Cause the drinks (dreams) bring back all the memories
Of everything we’ve been through (no, no)
Toast to the ones here today (ayy)
Toast to the ones that we lost on the way
‘Cause the drinks (dreams) bring back all the memories (ayy)
And the memories bring back, memories bring back you
Doo doo, doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo
Memories bring back, memories bring back you
Doo doo, doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo (ooh, yeah)
Memories bring back, memories bring back you
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, doh, doh
Memories bring back, memories bring back you"
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Adam Levine / Jacob Hindlin / Jonathan Bellion / Jordan Johnson / Michael Pollack / Stefan Johnson / Vincent Ford
Memories lyrics © Audiam, Inc, BMG Rights Management, Concord Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sentric Music, Songtrust Ave, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, TuneCore Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc