As promised, old writing

Originally "published" February 25, 2004

The Soundtrack of My Life: Songs that Tell the Story of Me 

Compiled by Jennifer Rose for ELAN 4120 (Writing instruction for Elementary Teachers) 

Welcome to the soundtrack of my life. I chose to represent my culture musically because music means a lot to me and has always been a part of who I am. I have been playing the piano since before i could ride a bike. I loved anything that made noise before that. My family always had a large record, tape, and CD collection and I don't remember a day that went by when something wasn't on the stereo. 

I chose to do this assignment the I did because there is always a song in my mind for any situation I am in. I can't think of a time when I wasn't mentally singing a song. I wanted to showcase a few of those songs that I am constantly singing to myself here. 

Broadway musicals, as you will see from my selection, are a genre of music that mean a lot to me. They are as much a part of my culture as the house that I live in. I had a hard time narrowing down the selection of songs from musicals for this project, so the ones represented here are just a tiny fraction of the musicals I adore. 

In fact, I really had a hard time choosing just 20 of the songs that represent me in all my glory. (Or non-glory, whatever the situation may be.) I chose 20 because it was a nice round number that wasn't too big or too small. I could have chosen much, much more than I did however, I really did not want to dedicate any more time to this project than I already have. (As it stands, I have spent a total of 12 hours writing and formatting this book.) 

I hope, by listening to this tape and reading the notes that follow each song, you gain an insight to me. I hope you get a general idea for how I define my culture and what it means to me. I hope you are not bored. I hope you have fun. Happy listening! Happy reading! 


I then go on to list the songs, their lyrics and a description of why I chose that song. Here is a listing on the songs I chose for my life circa 2004, almost ten years ago!


1. In My Own Little Corner, from Cinderella
2. Far from the Home I Love, from Fiddler on the Roof
3. Circle Game by Joni Mitchell
4. I'll Be Okay by Amanda Marshall
5. Whistle a Happy Tune, from the King and I
6. Gypsy by Suzanne Vega
7. Someone to Watch Over Me (the version from Mr. Holland's Opus)
8. I Will Pass This Way Again by The Small Potatoes
9. Master's Degree by David Roth
10. Rondo alla Turca from Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major K331 by Mozart
11. Back in the USSR by the Beatles
12. Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da by the Beatles
13. It's a Perfect Relationship from Bells are Ringing
14. Happy Girl by Martina McBride
15. All Star by Smash Mouth
16. Many A New Day from Oklahoma
17. The Devil Went Down to Georgia, performed by Mike Rayburn
18. Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright
19. The Windmills of Your Mind from the Thomas Crown Affair performed by Noel Harrison
20. Variations on Pachelbel's Kanon performed by Mike Rayburn

I suppose I owe my reading audience YouTube videos of these, and they are to come, along with a description of what I wrote then and how my views have changed now. Piece by piece, I will be writing again. :)