The beauty of music

WRITTEN BY TOBY NIX

Music has always played an important role in my life. 

I grew up with a father who loved Willie and Waylon, a mother who loved Elvis, and older brothers who loved everything.

I knew every word to “Paul Revere,” “Pancho and Lefty” and “Beth.” I remember the girls in elementary school singing “Greatest Love of All” on the playground at recess. We believed that children were the future because we were children, and our future was bright (if you asked us anyway).

I’ve gone through phases. I’ve seen Alan Jackson in concert. I’ve also seen Limp Bizkit, Method Man and Redman, Metallica multiple times, and Dwight Yoakum.

There's this line from Kris Kristofferson. At the beginning of a live song, you can hear him say, “If it sounds country, man, that’s what it is. It’s a country song.”

I’ve always liked that line because I’ve never cared about labels. What sounds hard rock to me may be pop to someone else. Who cares what it’s called? If you like it you like it.

I like songs with stories. I like songs with emotion. “Go Rest High on that Mountain” is not a favorite of mine, but I’ve watched the video of Vince Gill and Patty Loveless singing it a hundred times. And I’m sure I have at least another hundred in me.

My music playlists are all over the place. When I’m on the way to Florida, I lean toward Jimmy Buffett. If I’m at the gym, Metallica is usually on the top of the list.

There are different moods and there is music to fit each mood.

Music is like food. Sometimes you want an appetizer that doesn’t require much thought, and other times you want an elaborate dish. I can listen to a song just because I like the vibe of it. I would never walk 500 miles, or 500 more, but I will invariably nod my head to the beat when I hear that song.

Then there are songs that can cut me down to my soul. While following my mother’s hearse from the funeral home to the gravesite, I played “Will the Circle be Unbroken” several times. The verse asking the undertaker to please drive slow tore me up that day.

It’s torn me up every time I’ve heard it since. And sometimes I’m in a mood where I just want to be torn up.

That’s the beauty of music: Whatever you’re in the mood for, it has what you need. NCM