At the start of this week, my Interventions in Biomedical Sciences course began learning about the benefits of music therapy. Music therapy can be used for many different purposes in the medical field. Some of the most common of these applications is to regain speech or memory, produce calming effects that improve mood, and alleviate pain. As a means of proving the effectiveness of music on the human subconscious, our class conducted individual surveys. We each played the song “Automatic” by Miranda Lambert. Lambert’s work reminisces on common practices before life became “automatic”, saying “It all just seems so good the way we had it”. I conducted my survey with my mother, born in 1983, to see how different lyrics in the song made her feel.
My mother said the song made her feel nostalgic and even quite emotional. It reminded her of the simplest times in her early childhood. Most especially, this song reminded her of the love she had with each individual she shared these moments with. She thinks back to locking herself in the closet with her sister to keep her other siblings away while the pair listened to and learned every word to the Garth Brooks “In Pieces” Album. She also thinks back to times spent with her grandparents. She spoke about how her grandmother would fuss at her and her grandfather when they would accidentally knock the clothes drying on a line outside while playing baseball. She also remembers getting lost on the way to an Atlanta Braves baseball game with her grandfather because she (the navigator) read a map incorrectly. She even thinks back to times spent with my father when they first met. She remembers him teaching her how to drive a standard with windows that had to be cranked to open/close. She also remembers when he used to call her everyday before school and my grandmother had to get off the dial-up Internet so that she could get through. Lastly she had to say, “Definitely the world is easier, but we do skip a lot of the little things that are some of my fondest memories”.
It was so interesting to hear my mom’s perspective on the song and even learn new stories from her childhood. I also got to see just how impactful music can be. I certainly had no response for the song other than enjoying its catchy tune, but it was fascinating to see it from a new lens. Below is a picture of my mom and her grandmother from back then! Isn’t she adorable?
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