I've Got a Name

"Like the pine trees linin' the windin' road
I've got a name, I've got a name
Like the singin' bird and the croakin' toad
I've got a name, I've got a name
And I carry it with me like my daddy did..."

These words were written by an Italian American songwriter, Jim Croce, and became a hit mere months after he was taken too soon from this world by a fatal plane crash.

When I first heard this song though, I didn't know that. All I remember was being danced across the floor by my Dad as he played song after song for me, giving life to all sorts of imaginations and possibilities. My Dad loved music, and so did my Mom, it was always playing at my home. I can still remember that long brown wooden turntable system my dad had. It was an authentic piece of 70's nostalgia bliss. I never found out where Dad got it or where it went to, all I knew was what came out of it was pure Heaven. Janis Joplin, Jim Croce, Elton John, The Eagles, The Beatles and lest we forget, Buffy Saint Marie.

I still get weepy eyed when I hear stuff like "Me and Bobby McGee" or "Your Song", but I'm not sure if that's because of the lyrics themselves or because of the emotions attached to them.

I do also remember me and my brother sitting there listening to our stack of albums for the evening and our old man coming in, sitting down and smelling of Old Spice and Players Light filter, and pulling a whole new stack of ideas...of lyrics...of thoughts we hadn't heard. Every single album that man owned was a damn classic, even if the cat found the albums more useful as a scratching post. Sad thing was - most people didn't know what a treasure he truly had.

Today I still hold on to those early evenings...and the words I felt and the melodies I drank...They shaped me and gave me visions of the person I wanted to be and places I wanted to go... And while 'some dreams have lost their grandeur coming true', I'd like to think I stick by my childhood promise to Croce to keep "movin' ahead so life won't pass me by".

This is a bit odd I'm sure as a starting post, and yet, I can't help but feel its fitting. It represents where I came from...and how I got to where I am now. This post - like many of the others from now on - may be written in a more relaxed lose style then I do for work. I think I need that to let others see a bit of my soul As Dylan himself once said. "This might be good for somebody, if not for me, it might be good for somebody..."

Well...I'll close this trip down memory lane for now..and leave you to your own memories.

Keep it real,

Dougie.