The strains of "All I Ask of You" from Phantom of the Opera are running through my head... I just got back from a musical theatre recital, and it was brilliant. And I'm thinking again about a conversation I had over Spring Break, with Janine and Jacque and Ron and Cole, as we walked through Port Meadow in the biting wind, to the Trout Inn for tea. We were all bundled in multiple layers, coats and scarves, and Jacque even had her pink-flowered "wellies" on. Cole was wearing his red toboggan and looking stylishly teenagerish. :) Anyway, Janine started a discussion about the music of our lives, and what songs would be on the soundtrack of our lives. So here's mine...a short list of songs that have had a deep, profound and/or long-lasting presence in my life (NOT in chronological or any kind of order)...

-"Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole - a wonderful piece of music, and a very special song for my dad and me

-"The Prayer" - lots of musicians have recorded this duet, but the Charlotte Church/Josh Groban version is my favourite. Tori and I used to ride around in her car and belt it out (she was Charlotte; I was Josh). The lyrics are gorgeous, and I looove the instrumentation.

-"Air for Band" is a little-known instrumental piece that was the anthem for Midland High Band. It's short, sweet and somehow poignant; the warm clarinet harmonies choke me up every time.

-"Seasons of Love" is the key song from the musical Rent, and has been one of my faves for years. I remember Jon pulling me aside at Kate's fifteenth birthday party, saying, "You have to hear this song." We went into her room and he played it for me on the stereo. I was captivated. And last semester at a House 9 party, I wound up standing shoulder to shoulder with a half-dozen of my best friends, singing it with all my heart. Good times.

-"Superman" by Five For Fighting - captures the end of high school, with all its fear and promise. Only Jon, my best friend, knows how much this song means. I'll always think of him when I hear it.

-I can't pick one song by George Strait, but if I had to, I'd probably pick "I Cross My Heart" - that's one of my parents' songs - or "Ocean Front Property" or "Heartland." One of the old ones. Those songs conjure up memories of LONG car trips to Ohio when I was a kid...we rotated our half-dozen George Strait cassettes in the car stereo, and Betsy and I knew every word. (We still do!)

-"In the Mood" - from high school football games to Swing Cats sessions to dancing in my living room, it's my fave jazz piece EVER.

-"Brighter Than You Know" by Ross King - my introduction to a musician I have since come to love, who writes honest, thought-provoking songs that have room for faith and doubt. Adam played this for me one night in the Barnes & Noble parking lot, when I was really down about my life...I remember crying on his shoulder as it played. And since then it has kept coming back to encourage me.

-"The Sign" by Ace of Base - memories of sixth grade and sleepover nights with my friend Stephanie. Staying up late, talking about boys, painting our nails outrageous colors and watching Clueless way too many times...

-I can't pick one Barry Manilow song either, but if I had to it would be "I Write the Songs." Or "Mandy" or even "Copacabana"... :)

-"I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack - the basis for my high school graduation speech and, in a sense, my life. At least, I hope so. I'm trying to live that way.

-"Hallelujah to the Lamb" - a choral piece that for several years was the finale to our church's Easter Passion Play. Standing up there with the choir, dressed in first-century Jewish costume, and singing at the top of my lungs about our risen Savior is still one of the high moments of my life.

-"The Sound of Music," from my favourite musical ever - the one that got me hooked on Julie Andrews, Austria, and musical theatre. New Year's Day 1993...my dad's favourite movie and mine too. Thanks, Dad.

-"Blue Christmas" by Elvis Presley - from one of the tapes we listen to EVERY year while putting up the tree. My dad didn't know the words - for years it was "Let the red raindrops fall on a green Christmas tree" and "I'm here without you, and you're not here with me." (Makes logical sense, right?)

-"Salvation Belongs to Our God," sung a cappella with Jamie in the courtyard of a sixth-century abbey in Whitby, England. Since then it has become one of my anthems, and it's special to Charity and me, too.

-"Blessed Be Your Name" - I first heard it at St. Aldate's, and fell in love with it on the spot. When my life fell apart that summer, and for the entire next year when I had no answers, this song got me through some rough times. Highland has picked it up almost as an anthem since last January's wreck, and we have sung it through tears and through joy.

Anyone else? What's on the soundtrack of your life?