Everyone Has A Story
Everyone has a story, I'm not the only one.
I've long been inspired by other women's stories. My grandmother was a great storyteller. She also provided an excellent example of “the long version of things”, which is a nice way of saying she had a hard time shortening things down – a trait which I have undoubtedly inherited (if you don’t think so, you may see it very soon). She also repeated her stories and could never remember if she had said it before (which she had… several times), but it didn't matter, she always told it like it was the first time. And to me, each story gave me something new that I might as well have been hearing it for the first time, too.
What I loved most about her stories, and probably why I tolerated hearing them all the time as a kid, was the simple fact that her stories always had a message, and usually a message that made you feel better in some way. There’s one (of many) that still strikes a chord, about her first cousin, the only family member left in Europe during the war. His wife and children were all killed by the Nazis and when he finally came to Canada, he was 40, struggling, and a broken man. As my grandmother would explain, “Because G-d works in mysterious ways,” he met a woman who was already in her ’40s and, at the time, deemed too old of a maid to find an eligible suitor. They fell in love, they married, they had children and they led a beautiful life together. From a life of pain, they were able to make a life more blessed than either of them could’ve imagined. Who wouldn’t feel better after a story like that?
My grandmother told me that every pot had its lid, and with every door that closed, there will soon be another door that opens for you. That's what stories have always meant to me. That’s what I’m hoping my story will be.
Through the years, I gravitated towards memoirs by women, stories like Eat, Pray, Love and Wild, that proved that sometimes it takes a dark tunnel to see some light. Other times it takes an actual physical journey. In my case it took Nashville and country music, to find a place for my own story.
I'm not the only one; music for centuries has been built on narrative and emotion. Songwriters that got their start after a failed relationship, locked themselves in a bedroom and came out with an album. There are many. The Bluebird; the renowned songwriter venue in Nashville, responsible for discovering some of country's greatest writers, and for which the new primetime ABC show Nashville takes place, draws new writers every Monday night. The line-up has been known to go around the block and the wait is hours long. Writers get a chance to play a single song for a group of eager listeners, and although some are looking for their big break, others are looking for catharsis, and are willing to travel across the country to get it. I did.
I'm not the only one to feel completed stumped by life and love in my mid ’30s, unsure of my direction, and in a constant tug of war between my hopes and facing reality.
In songwriting sessions, you share the burden of your story. It doesn't matter if you are 17 or 70, everyone is going through something. I have a co-writer, and now a dear friend, who is well into his 70's. In his songs, he often shares updates on his relationship: “So-and-so spends so much time with her grandchildren that it leaves for very little bonding time,” he sings. On weekends he’s often left feeling like the odd man out – there’s a song about that, too.
There are stories everywhere, and where there’s a story, there are words that can dance on a melody and transform it into a song. Thank you for reading this blog and joining me as I share mine.
Tell me yours.
Love, Dayna
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1 comments
I am enjoying your story, keep up the great work! Anna L.TN
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