The Songs of My Life

Writing 101 today asks me to celebrate three songs that are significant to me. For the twist, write for fifteen minutes without stopping — and build a writing habit.

Hotel California, by The Eagles

Another Brick in the Wall, by Pink Floyd

We Are the Champions, by Queen

All three of these songs have had an impact on me at different times in my life. Hotel California was popular when I first went into the Air Force in 1976 (and yes, I know I am dating myself here ).  Click on the link above and you will be directed to YouTube where you will find the lyrics for the song and be able to hear it play.  That is true for all three songs.

After you have read or listened to the song you will get an understanding from the point of view of a young woman who just enlisted into the Air Force for 4 years, which was  a man’s world that was not welcoming to women.

The last stanza of the song from the site above – Hotel California:

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
‘relax,’ said the night man,
We are programmed to receive.
You can checkout any time you like,
But you can never leave!

This really exemplified what we women were feeling at that time joining the military.  This was just a few years after the Vietnam War had ended.  The influx of women was paramount to the times.  The men just did not think we should be there and made sure we knew that.  I struggled for equality the whole time I served in the Air Force.

The military sucks you into a different existence.  You become a different person.  You learn their language and their ways.  You are brainwashed to their way of thinking, and even though you can checkout any time you like, you can never leave…

Thirty plus years later, I am the wife of a 24 year career Retired Master Sergeant.  We still use the Commissary and the Base Exchange.  It became a way of life – you can never leave.  Now let me make this clear, as a veteran, I benefited greatly from my experiences and would do them all over again!

Another Brick in the Wall was one of the first British videos I saw on television while I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, U.K.  MTV was not even airing in the States yet.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  I was instantly hooked on Pink Floyd.  I loved their sounds and still do to this day.  This song reminds me of my life in East Anglia where I grew up in the military.

It was the early 1980’s and I was 21 years old!  My time in England imprinted on me.  I loved the people and the culture.  To this day, I still drink a cup of PG Tips each night – the proper English way.  I even gave birth to my youngest daughter while I was there.  I had a mid-wife and my daughter had a NHS card.  I am still drawn to the culture today.  Thanks to all my British friends on WordPress!

When the song, Another Brick in the Wall is playing I am instantly transported back into time living and working in England.  Great memories.  Where was I?  Oh yeah…

We Are the Champions is my “I can liberate the world song!”  I feel this song has always been about the trials and tribulations I had in my early life.  I was a foster child and a Ward of the State of Wisconsin, in my late teen years.

I refused to let that define me in my life.  I made myself into someone else and defied the stereotypes.  I served in the Air Force.  I went to college and obtained two Associates Degrees.  I am a wife, mother, and grandmother.  I am a writer, and I am a poetess.  I am a champion!

 

Thanks for visiting!  I enjoy seeing you each time you stop by!

Silver Threading