Sange vores forældre gav os
11. september 2013
The Guardian har fået den idé at spørgenogle af sine journalister om, hvilken musik de fik med i rygsækken fra deres forældre. Og den slags passer jo fint til en nostalgiker som mig. Specielt en af historierne er rigtig fin. Det er den om faderen, der lader sin lille 10-årige søn lytte til Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil”:
A lifelong seeker of new music, my dad never really tried to school me in the classics of his youth. The sole exception happened when I was 10 and still regarded pop as a kind of benign backroom hum that was nice enough but nowhere near as interesting as my specialist subject: the second world war. One morning he was driving me to school when he said, “I think you’ll like this” and played me Sympathy for the Devil.
A song sung by the Devil! Mentioning the second world war! I had no idea such a thing was possible. It didn’t even feel like pop music to me but something that had wriggled out of the blood-soaked pages of my Commando and Tales From the Crypt comic books. It pulsed with an illicit mystery that I couldn’t fathom even after my dad, a teacher by instinct as well as by trade, explained the historical references to me. It wasn’t just a record; it was a nightmare you could dance to.
Looking back, I’m touched that my dad knew exactly which song in his huge collection would thrill a musically clueless 10-year-old. He picked out a personalised gift that said: “Don’t underestimate music. It can do anything.”
‘Undervurder ikke musikken. Den kan gøre alt’. Det er da noget af en lære at få med på sin vej…
