Only last week I was just looking at my "short list" of songs I thought I might play at the Getaway. It was as if I was seeing it for the very first time. I wondered what it was about those songs...what about them appealed to me? what might they have in common? They all seemed so very different from one another! I think I discovered this: Each of them contains a line or phrase which causes ME to see a strong mental image of something within the song. (My hope, of course, is that I can sing it in such a way that other people can get a glimpse of that same picture.)

"...standing in the rain, waiting for the morning train"; "Hear the mighty engines roar. See the silver wings on high..."; "His head was found in the drivin' wheel but his body was never found..." "Wind, come and fill my mainsail..."; "It shines like the crown of an angel and fades as the mists come and go..."There's three white horses in a line - weary now from their heavy load."; "I stepped up to my rival, my dagger in my hand. I seized him by the collar and I ordered him to stand!" -- Only a few here, but I could go on and on. I appreciate songs which have tunes which match them well and I especially like tunes which allow me to be a little flexible with the timing or phrasing of a particularly meaningful line.

My overall sense of songs is that nearly anyone can sing a bouncy, happy song as long as the words and tune support that. I sing a few such songs, but lean more toward the ones which I view as being thought provoking or perhaps just create a mood other than that of joy. Love songs, songs of murder and intrigue, work songs, songs of melancholy or despair - all of these appeal to me for one reason or another.

Once in awhile I find a song which expresses some aspect of my sense of humor. I try to sing that kind of song too.

As for songs I like to hear, I came to a new realization this weekend at the Getaway. Our own Uilleand along with Flawn William (who, I was told, lurks here sometimes) sang some absolutely beautiful German folksongs. Now, I have almost no abilities when it comes to understanding German whether spoken or sung; but I can tell you that these songs were way beyond wonderful. It wasn't just the melodies, it was the way the sounds fit within them. I had no idea what the songs were saying, but I sure loved the feelings they expressed.

So, I guess I am only a little closer than I was to figuring out what about a song really gets my attention. Sometimes the lyrics are almost enough on their own; sometimes it is the way the tune works with them. And sometimes it is just the way it makes me feel.