WITH A SONG IN MY HEAD
BY DAN MILLER
(originally posted March 16, 2005)
Is it just me, or do most people have, what I call, a "default song" in their brain?
That would be a specific song, or melody, that just pops into their head a lot.
It's the song they would most often find themselves humming, whistling or singing.
My Dad used to quietly whistle whenever he was working on any kind of project around the house.... and it was never a specific melody. I think it was sort of improvisational jazz whistling.
As a matter of fact, whenever he WASN'T whistling, we knew he was not feeling particularly well, because he always quietly whistled as he piddled around.
Also, I have a friend who used to boast that he could make his wife, unknowingly, hum any song. He would even take requests (unbeknownst to her).
OK, I told him, "get her to hum Moon River", and sure enough -- in a couple of minutes -- she was humming Moon River.
He did it through the power of suggestion. He would simply "whisper / sing" a line or two, and within seconds she'd be humming whatever song he planted. It was lots of fun.
Now I'll confess what my default song is. Actually I have two.
First, "Are You Lonesome Tonight". It stays in my head almost all the time, and emerges in my whistling or humming more often than I'd care to admit.
Second, "Paper Doll", the old Mills Brothers classic. I don't know where it comes from... I haven't heard that record in years... but, with no premeditation, I often become aware that it's the song I'm whistling.
Here's something even more unsettling about the songs that pop into my head.
More than 20 years ago, I tagged along with the radio broadcast crew to Athens, Georgia for a football game between Georgia and Vanderbilt.
There were several of us who made the trip.... and hotel rooms were scarce, so I had to share a room with Nashville attorney Jim Neal.
Early the next morning, as Jim took a shower, I could hear him through the walls singing "Oh What A Beautiful Morning". Such a positive, good natured man he is.
Later, when I was showering, I suddenly realized I was whistling "Born To Lose". For some reason, that melody was my subconcious selection to start my day. Maybe it had something to do with Vandy playing Georgia.
I wonder what the psychologists would make of all this.
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