What would I do without music? I bet just about every one of you feels the same, yes?
Camping alone means I spend much of each day, and just about every evening, by myself. That’s ok. I live alone in my home so I’m used to that. And I do always seem to meet people when I’m camping so I get plenty of social time.
During the day when I’m camping, I’m usually out and about either walking/hiking or enjoying short drives in the truck around the area and I invariably find interesting and really nice folks to chat with. During the evenings back at the trailer, I’m often online prepping the blog or checking email or watching a movie online or on DVD or I’m reading my book. I always take a walk around the campground after dinner and just about always visit a bit with other campers. As well, I try to find campgrounds and campsites where the sounds of the forest or a nearby river surround me … I enjoy those natural sounds.
So when I’m actually parked/camped in a campground, then I don’t listen to music. But when I’m on the road and towing the trailer, driving from point A to point B, sitting behind the wheel maybe for several hours, then I want my tunes. I crank up the truck’s radio or slide a CD into the dash player and hum along or sing along. Camping is a way for me to escape the noise of local and world news … as much as news is important, still I want a break from it. Cruising up the highway in my big white truck with my trailer in tow and my music playing … well, that soothes my soul.
So, what do you listen to Ann?
Well, ok, here’s the short list of my favorite types of music:
- Classical
- American folk music
- International music
- Hits from the 1960s (my high school and college years)
- Women’s music
- Scottish music (old and new)
As much as I like classical music and listen to it quite a bit at home, it doesn’t seem to fill the bill when I’m driving with the trailer in tow. The videos below are my very most favoritest driving tunes, though the full list of my favorites is much longer!
Turn your sound on. Crank the window down in your car or truck so you can feel the warm summer breeze, put one hand on top of the steering wheel and hang your other elbow out the window … sit back and cruise on down the road. [ok, I know you aren’t supposed to put your hand on top of the steering wheel anymore because if the airbag deploys it can break your arm! but still, remember when we drove with one hand off the top of the steering wheel?]
And yet … there’s also Cris Williamson, and “rockabilly” Wanda Jackson from the 1950s, and delectable Sandra Le Couteur, and remember Doris Day? … and so many great old cowboy songs, not to mention some fine old Scottish drinking songs by Robin Laing. As mentioned, the list of my favorite truck driving tunes is very long. Keep in mind that you may just get lost in all that music and the links that THOSE links in turn (with your own memories) take you to. 🙂 Please remember to come back here and listen to just one more tune ….
This next one below is probably my all time favorite piece of music in the world. It’s by a Cornish Celtic group called Dalla. Neil Davey is a whirlwind on the Greek bouzouki, and the bass clarinet (played by Hilary Coleman) is to me absolutely, deliriously delicious. My toes just cannae stop tapping!
What do you listen to when you need to lift your mood or your heart? Or if you just want a bit of company on the road of life?
I love country music and soft rock.
Hope you are having a great day!
I’m having a great day Ginger! Thank you. 🙂
What memories this brings up! Love old songs from the 40’s and the old style country music. Thanks, this was great. I’ve been reading your blog for more than a year but haven’t commented. I really like the variety of subjects.
Hi David, thanks for commenting! I love it when people comment regularly and I love it when people simply read along quietly but then pop up on rare occasion and comment. Thanks for the nice words about the variety in the blog.
I gotta say I love Tina Turner. What a life she has had.
And of course, Freddie Mercury. In high school we listened to Queen
and Supertramp NON-STOP.
But then again, I was from a small town
in the Kootenays… and so was the music store!
Hey, I just watched a documentary about Tina Turner maybe three weeks ago … what a life indeed. She’s a great singer and entertainer. On the other hand, I must admit that, although I’ve heard the names Freddie Mercury, and Queen, and Supertramp, I wouldn’t be able to recognize a tune of theirs. On the other hand, I do know where the Kootenay area is, generally, in Canada, and there are LOTS of camping opportunities there!
I’m wondering if the music we like to listen to depends on when we grew up, when we were still in school. My wife and I love Louis Armstrong and big band music, Ella Fitzgerald, Kate Smith, the Ink Spots. Thanks for that Gene Autry song Ann, it was one of the shows on early TV that was my favorite, I’ve been humming it all morning, and walking bowl-legged! ha! 🙂
Ha, yes! I can just picture you practicing your bowl-legged cowboy walk. 🙂 My brother and I were Hopalong Cassidy fans.
Oh yes music. I play in a community band, so music is a big part of my life from September through June. And then on the road I like to listen to a bunch of different stuff. But when I’m actually at the campsite with Katie-girl we don’t have music. I don’t know why. I think maybe I never thought about it, and haven’t worked out a system to listen. I do know I am annoyed when I have to listen to my neighbor’s music at a campsite, not why I went camping in the first place. But if I can be beside a river or a great lake, well, that kind of moving water is perfect music for me!
Me too, Dawn, once I’m settled in a campsite, I don’t turn on music or the radio or any noise making device … I like the sounds of nature. Partly that’s out of courtesy to others but, like you, I like the sounds of the natural world. You play clarinet, right? Hope you enjoyed that bass clarinet in Dalla’s tune. I played flute in high school and the first year or two of college and my best friends were always music majors … nevertheless, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bass clarinet. I sure do like how it sounds though.
You have such a delightfully eclectic musical taste, Ann! I love the tune by Dalla, I’ve put it on our wish list. Thank you for introducing us to this artist!
Thank you Virginia. 🙂 Unfortunately, the group Dalla is no longer playing together, though the individuals play in other groups and/or separately and sometimes with each other, but there is no more Dalla per se. I think they were terrific.