Maybe it reminds you of your first kiss. Maybe it helped you sail through rough emotional waters. Maybe it takes you back to carefree days and fun-filled nights.
Almost all of us have a song that holds a special place in our lives. One that gives us happiness or strength or a bittersweet beauty — simply put, a song that we're thankful we have.
Just in time for this season of giving thanks, we asked locals to share with us their most meaningful tune and why they're thankful for it. Here's what they told us.
Getting the Claws Out
Listening to "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor always gave a boost of energy to Lanise Lovestone when she went back to college.
"Going back to school as an older adult wasn't an easy task, I can tell you that! Some crying happened when it came to certain classes and just trying to push through them. 'Eye of the Tiger' is one of my favorite songs that I listen to when I know it's time to stop crying and get ready to kick life in the rear end," she says.
'Feeling My Feelings'
Sarah Moore had received devastating news only days before she heard Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats perform "Face Down in the Moment" at Riverbend. It was a cathartic experience, she says.
"I went to see him live at Riverbend just days after being diagnosed with breast cancer. That song hit hard that night, and I cried through it. It's been a great song these past few months to remind me that feeling my feelings is a good and normal thing, and hopefully, this will just be a moment of my life."
A Song for a Life
Katie Sanchez has no doubt whatsoever which song makes her thankful whenever she hears it.
"Always, always, 'Landslide' by Stevie Nicks," she says enthusiastically.
"When I was younger, my mother would sing it often as an anthem of resilience, but also of appreciation. A journey of a song on how the passage of time calms, strengthens and heals in magical ways. How love grows over the years as you grow up. When I married, I walked down the aisle to my aunt singing those beautiful lyrics with my father at my side and my mother carrying my veil."
Here Comes the Cavalry
Lezli O'Neal Lewis says "Don't Let It Get You Down" by Johnnyswim is one of those songs "that just seems to resonate at just the right frequency with your soul."
"The lyrics start off with: 'The storm, it came from cross the seven seas. Hold your course; here comes the cavalry.' We've all experienced those storms life can throw at us, and it's so tempting to give up and head back to shore," she says. "However, I've found that when I am able to hold my course though the storm, towards that 'dream I dreamed, and they said pay no mind' — another lyric from the song — there is almost always a cavalry right behind the rain. And not just any cavalry, but one that I couldn't have custom-ordered any better to help me through that storm and on to my dream."
Life's Ups and Downs
Pink has two songs that speak to Jasmine Nord's philosophy about life in both good times and bad: "Hurts 2B Human" "really just captures that life is a real roller coaster. Life is full of good days, bad days and ugly days. But no matter the day, it's great to have the support system of my friends and family to help me through it all," she says. "Trustfall," meanwhile, is a lesson in being confident about your decisions and "just going for it." "We get up and make decisions all day and trust that we made the right ones."
Sweetness
Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" touches the heart of Toria Tindall Williams in a very personal way. "That is our daughter's name," she says. "It always invokes happiness in a crowd, just like she does."