A Year In Music
A Song For Every Month (And A Few Extras)
I welcomed January with open arms
Kicking 2019 and cancer out the door
I was feeling hopeful, strong, invinsible
2020 was going to be an amazing year
Little did I, nor anyone else, know what 2020 had in store for us
As we welcomed the year in and
Linking arms - oh those days when we could touch each other -
Sang Auld Lang Syne
January came and brought with it whispers of trouble
A virus, in China out of control
But it was still far, far away and nothing to worry about
Or so I thought as I embraced life after cancer and danced the night away
To Dancing Queen and Proud Mary in The Two Brewers
February brought spring winds but the storm clouds gathered
The virus was spreading
It had crossed into Europe and now Italy was in trouble
But yet, naively we thought, it could not happen here
As we carried on as normal
Even in March, when the warning sign were plenty
We somehow thought, it would not be like that here
As we rocked at a charity concert for the Royal Marsden
Where Rick Wakeman wowed us with Eleanor Rigby
And we all joined in with All You Need Is Love
Turns out we all needed a little extra love this year
When we faced the harsh realities and locked down countries
We wowed to stand together, strong in the face of a lockdown
We clapped our nurses and doctors and other key workers
And took Captain Tom into our hearts.
We listened to We’ll Meet Again and revoked the old Blitz spirit
While the lockdown strechted on and on
Once more Captain Tom raised our spirits singing
And we thought, if he can weather this storm, so can we
As people stayed at home, the sun came out to play and
Treated us to a glorious April
We spent our days on the balcony, drinking cider,
listening to Massive Attack and Happy Mondays
May arrived with some good news
The virus was losening its grip of the nation
And we began to talk about life returning to normal
With some reservations
As spring turned to summer, the rules relaxed and crowds gathered
Outside pubs selling takeaway pints
We joined them, keeping our social distance
And later, at home we chilled out to new music from John Legend
and an actual legend, Bob Dylan
By July, life felt almost normal again
Hairdresses, gyms, pubs and restaurants opened their doors
And we were able to mix with other households
Within limits of course
Oh, the excitement
When, for the first time since the lockdown,
We ventured outside our local area and got together with some friends
We drank vodka and coke like good old times
Got out the disco lights
And danced to Little Mix and Pussycat Dolls
In August we still felt free as birds
Though the strom clouds gathered again
Scientists warned of an autumn spike but we all hoped it wouldn’t come
We embraced the last of the summer warmth
Dined out and had picnics in 0ur hideway spot in the park
We drank wine and mixed Moby with Bob Marley
And hope he was right and everything really would be alright
As the days grew shorter
September came and we hang on to normality
Like to our dear lives
But we knew it could not last when the cases began to rise again
As October and darker nights were upon us
The autumn blues kicked in and the news were full of doom and gloom
We cheered ourselves up with songs from LaLa Land and
Impromptu discos where anything went from Abba to ZZ Top
When November arrived we could no longer deny it
Things were bad and the country was closed to business again
It was tough
Way tougher than the first time
There was no sun or upbeat Instagram parties to cheer us up
December brought no relief with Christmas being cancelled
But we had weathered the storm that was 2020 so far
We could do so a little longer
While Robbie Williams and
the NHS choir with Justin Bieber released Christmas songs
We geared ourselves to meet the new year
As we count down the hours left of 2020 and
Reflect on a year we shall never forget
We hope 2021 will bring some light
and join our hands virtually to sing Auld Lang Syne
***
I hope you enjoyed my eclectic choice of music for 2020.
10% of what I earn on Vocal goes to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, so show your love by giving my piece a like or even by leaving a tip.
Thank you and Happy 2021!
***
Here is the playlist on Spotify
About the Creator
Reija Sillanpaa
A wise person said, "Be your own audience". Therefore, I write fiction, poetry and about matters important and interesting to me. That said, I warmly welcome you into my audience.
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