Spring always feels, if you don’t mind the terrible cliché-pun super-combo, like a turning of a new leaf. Many folks are waiting eagerly, passionately, angrily for the winter to die down and the sun to show up. You can feel it in the air whenever a glimmer of sunshine previews itself for just a moment before a howlin’ wind covers it up with a grey cloud. So we thought we’d get a little superstitious and play these songs loud enough for the gods to hear and take a hint!
‘This Bouquet’ by Ani DiFranco
Maybe it’s the flower metaphor, or maybe it’s the cheery, whimsical guitar plucking, but this song always puts me in the mood to twirl through a bright green spring field filled with new flowers just peeking out from behind their leaves. I have also always thought that this is the ultimate crush song: sweet, shy, tentative. And crushes, like spring, symbolise beginnings and potentiality. This song seems to embody everything lovely about springtime and new romance.
‘Good Day, Sunshine’ by the Beatles
One of my all-time favourite Beatles songs, ‘Good Day, Sunshine,’ perfectly captures the joy of being in the sunshine, being in love, and enjoying life. Between the rolling piano and the beautiful harmonies is a light and happy song—perfect for spring! ‘Good Day, Sunshine’ was off the Beatles’ 1966 album Revolver. With every album the Fab Four produced, the music grew and evolved. But it was Revolver that truly marked the end of the Beatles as a pretty boy band, and ‘Good Day, Sunshine’ is one of the top tracks that makes me think of them as adult composers and writers.
‘Move On’ by David Bowie
While I enjoyed my winter and surely am not in the hurry for the humid hell of a New York summer, I welcome the spring just as I welcome any turning point. Which is why David Bowie’s ‘Move On’ seems like the song to usher in my springtime. Actually it can serve quite well as an Urchin mantra; it manages to capture the bittersweet feelings of moving and travelling. The lyrics embody the impending excitement of what lies ahead as well as the feelings of fear and uncertainly, not only in going, but in leaving. Bowie’s trademark pipes croon over an ongoing drumbeat that keeps marching toward whichever direction feels most forward.
