I don’t want to rain down misery on everyone’s Mother’s Day, and I promise a nice post tomorrow, but today and for the last few days I’ve been feeling the loss of my own mother so very keenly that I had to share.
Yesterday my youngest sister sent Jen and me an email with a link to this song by Colin Hay, formerly the lead singer of Men at Work.
Hay captures so accurately the pain of losing a beloved parent – the loss, the longing, the reflection. I cried long and hard when I first heard this song.
And then Jen posted this call to honour the memory of mothers lost (and we who have lost them), which very much captures my present emotional state. Perhaps she also was a bit inspired by our sister’s introduction to Colin Hay’s “Dear Father”. Perhaps not. For all three of us, Mom is never far from our thoughts.
It’s a blurry picture, but it just so captures the essence of Mom. As a Grandma, with my second daughter a day after her birth.
But getting my little sister’s email reminded me how powerful song and music can be. The right song can dredge up memories and emotions long hidden away. The right song, indeed can transport you back to the person you were when first it became important in your life.
So today — the day before Mother’s Day — I give you these songs, in tribute to my own Mother, who is gone but never really far away, and also in honour of those of us who face tomorrow with only a memory to share it with.
“My Beloved Wife” – Natalie Merchant
Anything by Diana Krall – here’s “Quiet Nights”, the title song from her 2009 album which my mom loved to listen to that last summer
“Perhaps Love” – John Denver/Placido Domingo
“You Needed Me” – Anne Murray
I wish I had seen this on Mother’s Day. It was my 11th without my mother. She loved “Perhaps Love.” Such a beautiful song. There is also “Lullaby Requiem” and “The Climber” by Neil Finn (after his own mother passed). They make me cry when I am missing my Mom. Oh – and “Mother and Child Reunion” by Paul Simon was a favorite of hers too.
that picture is incredible. So many times I wish I had one like it. Was thinking of you guys yesterday knowing that I have ‘sisters in arms’ who know how hard it is. Perhaps Love was one of my mom’s tunes too! Along with the Karma Chameleon of course! Anything by Zamfir…or Broadway soundtracks!
I love that photo so much… sending love your way, Kath. xoxoxoxox
Thanks for the other songs. She’s “staring in my dreams”…
That picture…my heart.