The Music of our Lives

Some sociology students at Loyola University have been singing their way through American history lately. In exploring the music of our lives, they have gathered together a list of songs which they say "give voice to our nation's feelings at that time." Anyone who's ever called a song "my" or "our" already knows exactly what these students are beginning to discover. Their compendium is fairly long, but six jumped out. Three very Now songs; three very Yesterday songs. (No rock or rap made their list, but then why am I not surprised!)

Among the now-songs: Over There, Happy Days Are Here Again, and As Time Goes By. If you've heard them or, more importantly, if you've lived them, no explanation necessary. Otherwise, here's how their list explains them: * Over There is the big-beat George Cohan salute to the way a proud but innocent nation sent it's dougboys over to fight the bad boys in World War I. "Tell 'em the Yanks are coming and we won't come back till it's over over there...!" was a young country still willing to believe there was evil in the world only America could cure. Not unlike the same way the nation sent its GIs to Iraq. * Happy Days by Lou Jones is the rousing yes-we-can theme song of FDR's New Deal, pre-dating Obama's campaign by 75 years. Both leaders entered our history at a crisis point, both telling the nation times are bad, but America is at its best when the odds are at their worst. * As Time Goes By by Herman Hupfeld is the quintessential song-of-love-in-time-of-war. Used as the haunting score to the World War II classic "Casablanca," it helps Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman remind Americans that love always conquers adversities, and America always conquers enemies.

The students' yesterday-songs included: The Summer of '42, The Way We Were, and Over the Rainbow: * The Summer of '42 by Alan Bergman is that genre of pop music that speaks chapters without a single lyric. It squeezes the heart with the ache of the longing we all feel in our lives. In this case, the longing of a young war widow and of a coming-of-age boy. It speaks to any American who has ever needed someone to fill the hole in their soul. * The Way We Were by Marvin Hamlisch conjures up instant images of Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford yearning to re-connect the two halves to a broken love. Wanting to be whole has always been the through line to America's history. * Over The Rainbow by Harold Arlen is the quintessential anthem-to-a-better-place to which Americans forever stand attention.

Being a sunrise society that believes in dreams more than nightmares, Americans of all ages continue to re-live the lyric's message. From its earliest days to its latest days, America just has this thing for rainbows. I'm not sure what these students plan to do with their list. As for me, it's not list. It's a life. Mine and perhaps yours too.