A Time After Time Story

A few weeks ago I was in the shower. I've been in the shower many times since then (really!) but this time was unusual for a few reasons. First, I was in Auckland, New Zealand, and secondly while I was in there I had a huge insight about a song.

I was in NZ at that time working with the very fine Greater Auckland Chapter of Sweet Adelines, a chorus of some 120 very good singers under the unstoppable leadership of Melody Lowe. We were working together on Time After Time, among other songs. Together we figured out what that song was really about, and created a vibrant and impactful story that really allowed the ladies of the GAC to shine.  With groups that good, more often than not that's what I do so they get the most bang for their buck.

Anyway I'm in the shower, singing as usual, and I find myself singing Time After Time:

Time After Time I tell myself that I'm so lucky to be loving you
So lucky to be the one you run to see in the evening when the day is through
I only know what I know the passing years will show you've kept our love so young, so new
And Time After Time you'll hear me say that I'm so lucky to be loving you

And I start to choke up, thinking about my wife Kari back in Vancouver, and how I don't tell her enough how much I love her.

And that, in a nutshell, is what makes music important. It catches you off guard and teaches you things about yourself and about the world. It gives you a chance to experience more things than you could hope to experience in a lifetime without it. That should be all the reason we need to make absolutely sure that music gets the support it needs to be and to stay a thriving, vital part of our society. It should be one of our most deeply cherished values, right after food and shelter.  And in some places, like Hawaii, you barely need shelter!

Anyway, I thanked the ladies of the GAC for their part in bringing me this experience, and promised them I would sing it for Kari. This past week we were in Hawaii together for our 10th wedding anniversary, and I surprised her on a crowded tour bus with just that serenade. Just the look in her eyes was worth it, but as a bonus everyone on the bus went home with a nice story.

More on the specifics of why I like Time After Time so much, in an upcoming post.