So I joined a writing class by Amit Varma this year. Since then, some of the learners banded together to form a community where we share prompts every week and attempt writing a piece. I wrote this post in response to this prompt :
Choose your favorite piece of music (non-verbal), either instrumental, classical, jazz or folk. Maybe you could choose a background soundtrack. Does not matter as long as it is without words.
You could put this song as a soundtrack while reading this.
When a song is close to your heart, it takes on a meaning that becomes hard to separate from the music. The longer you know the song, the more meaning it takes on. The more memories you attach to it. Ode to a Sunny Day is one of those songs for me. I have known the song for about eight years now. As long as some of my closest friends.
When anyone asks me for song recommendations, this is the first song I can think of. Without fail. Most people also seem to love it. I am sure it has nothing to do with the meaning I attach to it; it’s just the song that is a great musical piece itself.
It’s ten minutes long, but doesn’t feel longer than necessary. The three-minute melodic intro, gentle guitar supported by keys, gives most lullabies a run for their money. As the song goes on, the bass and drums make you groove in your seat while the guitar mesmerizes you with melodic lines. The phrasing is evocative, and frisson abundant. Even if you can’t stand instrumental music (not judging you guys, I promise), there’s a chance you’ll not even notice that there are no vocals. I like to call this song poetry on guitar.
There is also a backstory to this song.
Warren Mendonsa wrote this while missing the sunny days he left behind, when he moved from Bombay to New Zealand. And maybe it’s because I know this backstory, but listening to this song has come to feel like a great nostalgia trip with a friend.
The song never forces you out of your comfort zone. No flashy or loud parts that demand more attention from you than maybe the evening chai with an old friend. The song mimics the bittersweet arc of nostalgia. The upbeat guitar lines make you look back on the old times fondly. The quieter portions feel like the standard nostalgia reality check that those times are not coming back again. And no matter how many times you listen to it, it leaves you with a warm feeling in the end.
I guess writing about great art is probably the most difficult thing to do. So much of its beauty is in its original form; it’s incredibly ambitious to replicate how it made you feel in another form. If you didn’t feel like listening to the song, blame the write-up and still give the song a try. Especially in these times when we are cooped up in our homes, and some of us are taking Vitamin D supplements to compensate for the lack of sun, I can’t think of a better song to recommend than Ode to a Sunny Day. No bias, I promise.
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