Born to be Wild is such a great memory

At some modern funerals they play a few of the deceased’s favourite songs but that is not what I am thinking here. I confess that is what started me thinking about what my top five songs would be, but more in line of which ones would you choose if they were the last five songs you would ever hear. Maybe they would go with that last meal of fish and chips or bacon and eggs, and a glass of ’59 Grange Hermitage, sorry Barry. Of course in my case it would be the greatest year of all, in wine terms anyway, 1955. So I found this really difficult, there are just so many songs to choose from, and I reckon a Top 100 would be a piece of cake, and you wouldn’t leave out so many good ones. So bearing that in mind, here’s my Top Five songs in reverse order, and I would love to see yours, email me at erickontos@southwestvoice.com.au:

Number 5: Yesterday by the Beatles. It’s not only a musically lovely moody song, but I just love the fact that the boys, who would have been hardly 25, were already starting to lament the loss of their youth. If I can remember the line correctly, they sang how “yesterday, all my troubles fade away, and now they’re here to stay”. How true.

Number 4: In the Schoolyard by Cat Stevens. Yes, there’s a theme emerging here, although this is almost a celebration of those carefree years when we were young. It makes me happy when I hear it.

Number 3: When I was Young by Eric Burdon and the Animals. Unlike the Beatles, Burdon was talking about how the times were changing after the second world war: “when I was young/my father was a soldier then” but also sings of rebellion: I smoked my first cigarette at 10”. when I heard it it was the first time I understood that you could be a rebel but in a nice way.

Number 2: Imagine by John Lennon. Yes, indeed, “imagine all the people/living in peace”. Pie in the sky stuff, sure, but maybe one day. If it doesn’t resonate with you, well, so be it.

Number 1: Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf. “Get your motor running/head out on the highway/looking for adventure/in whatever comes our way…” I still get goosebumps when I hear this song about hitting the road and being as free as a bird. But again it’s about being young and how wonderful that time is in everyone’s life. It’s number one for me and always will be because it’s the only song I got to sing in the only garage band that would have me. For some reason they never invited me back, thank God, I couldn’t sing to save my life. But it’s given me one of my greatest memories.