On my drive to work this morning, one of the favorite songs from my childhood came on the radio: "Walk of life" by Dire Straits. Within the first few seconds of the song, I was transported to the back of my father's white Renault, on my way to school with my brother and sister. All of us were mumbling along to lyrics we did not understand, but made up a perfect translation to a then foreign language. In our young minds, the song was about a boy named Johnny, who apparently liked to walk for no apparent reason.
Life was so simple back then. Our entire musical world was contained on two cassette tapes: the red tape and the black tape. Both tapes were in English, and since no one in my family understood the language yet, it meant that we had to use our imaginations to translate and explain away any of the songs. It only took us a few weeks to figure out that the tapes were a compilation of different artists, and that Dire Straits had nothing to do with George Michael. I think it were I developed sort of ear of some of my favorite musicians, being able to recognize their "sounds" from the very first notes.
My brother, sister and I (my youngest brother was still too young to go to school) created our own little world, where we did not need to understand our surroundings to know we belonged. My father always worked late, and could not pick us up from school, but the thirty minute morning ride was on the highlights of my younger days. Those two tapes, were the main reason why I was so eager to study English to share my new-found knowledge the next day. Ok, let's be honest, I was really just bragging....!
Louis Amstrong's "Wonderful world" is one of the first songs I ever memorized in English. We would serenade it to each other at the top of our lungs. It was easy, simple and beautiful. Just like these times on our way to school... My siblings and I may be in different lanes, but I am glad we are walking together on the walk of life.
