Antonio D’Elia
English 11 Honors
Song Book Movie Essay
ACE 89
It’s a typical Friday night for me as a six year old. All five of my cousins are at my house and Orazio, Fulvio, and I are getting ready for yet another lesson that we all look forward to every week. My black karate uniform is wonderfully contrasted with my newly achieved yellow belt. As we sit quietly in the basement wondering what my dad’s going to teach us next I wait for some of those familiar words. When I hear the words “don’t stop believin’” echoing form the corner room I know that our lesson is about to begin. Although we always learned something different or did something new, one thing always remained the same during those crazy lessons that I loved so much. I could always be rest assured that my dad would be playing his Journey: Greatest Hits CD whenever we had a lesson. Although my childhood karate lessons always included my dad’s Journey CD, it seems as though many of my other valued memories also came attached to a Journey song. I know that at least one Journey song from this CD was present at all of my birthday parties. The day that I lost my first tooth I ran downstairs to tell my dad who was inevitably listening to “Ask the Lonely” as he organized his car collection. “Any Way You Want It” was playing softly in the distance when I accidently pushed my sister off of her ball and she cracked her head open. And of course I cannot forget hearing “Separate Ways” and “Lights” blasting from the stereo on the day I helped my dad wash his car and a bee stung me for the first time. These songs were not just simply playing in the background during a couple memorable events in my life, they have
become a distinct part of my memories and they are what I associate with these numerous events in my life that I will remember forever. I can remember listening to “Wheel in the Sky” in the car as me and my dad rode to get my first skateboard. I also distinctly remember the words “when the lights go down in the city” still coming out of the car windows that same day after I fell off my skateboard and broke my foot. Even though I didn’t know it at the time, these songs would be playing during many more important times throughout my life. In fact, the first song that my dad ever taught me to play on the piano was “Open Arms.” I practiced that chorus for hours on my little Yamaha keyboard. When I finally mastered the right hand melody I came running to my dad. I’ll never forget his face when he saw that I could actually play what he taught me. When I saw his smile I knew for the first time that I wanted to take piano lessons. For me, Journey was the start of something that would follow me throughout my life. I wouldn’t say that Journey: Greatest Hits was my father’s favorite CD but he did play it often. He even told me that he played a lot of those songs in his high school band. For me, these songs were not just popular hits from the 80’s; they were the backdrops to many memorable events from my childhood. When I look back on my memories that included these songs I see that Journey, in a way, has brought me much closer to my father. In fact most memories that I have with my father are attached to these remarkable songs. I know that whenever I think of my dad I won’t just think of his caring personality or his funny gestures, I will hear a Journey song echoing in the back of my head.
For me Journey’s greatest songs are not special because they have a deep meaning that truly speaks to me, they are special because that are a part of the many memories from my childhood that I will hold forever. It is clear to me that Journey has followed me through my so far unforgettable journey of life. Journey has become a part of my past, and hopefully they will follow me to my future.