"But don't forget the songs
That made you cry
And the songs that saved your life
Yes, you're older now
And you're a clever swine
But they were the only ones who ever stood by you"
This morning before work I picked up Simon Goddard's tome Songs That Saved Yr Life on the canon that is The Smiths music. All it takes is for me to read a chapter on this song or that and I'm back, that clumsy and shy teenager alone his room, playing his records singing along to the only voice who understood.
Today it sounds like a cliche, but that was my life. An outcast in an affluent part of South Texas. My classmates listened to country and metal. I did not belong. So I, like many of my Mogger amigos might have done, found solace and comfort in the music that became the soundtrack to my life.
Even today all I need is to hear a lyric, a riff, a beat from a song to lift me up. This is what music means to me. It is a reflection of who I am. It used to by my voice. It spoke for me when, I, this stuttering teen couldn't get a syllable out to even say my own name.
I will never forget these songs. Some were by The Smiths but there were others, many others that have now become a part of me. So now with my music cranked up and me singing along, there's a smile on my face. This clever swine is thankful for all of those song that stood by me when no one ever would. They have made me stronger, wiser and prouder to be the man that I have become.
