Homage to “Talladega”

Have you ever heard a song that instantly and mysteriously stirs your emotions like your morning coffee? The voice, the music, and mainly the lyrics of Talladega by Eric Church causes my throat to form a tender lump, only to be relieved with tears. I love the song but can only listen when I need a good cry.

“It was the summer before the real world started and
The deal was we would get to go, if we
Cleaned it up, and got it running
Daddy’s old Winnebago”

“Before the real world started”, you know, before life required so much, before real jobs, before real bills, before responsibility that comes with having a family of your own. It’s the end of an era.

Once school is over, it’s time to figure things out. The door of youth, innocence, and a carefree life closes and the door to duties and responsibilities opens. It’s an ending, and as with many endings, we grieve. When I hear those lyrics, I grieve again.

“Like a storm, time rolls on
You can’t hit pause, that’s just the deal
Most days in life don’t stand out
But life’s about those days that we all like”

“Like a storm, time rolls on” and here I am a few months away from 50 years old. As my doctor said, I’m not that old and I’m not that young. Either way, it came quickly.

“Talladega” momentarily brings back a time, a place, and a feeling. A time that’s gone, along with so many of the things that went with it. My “Talladega” feels like a lifetime ago in some ways. Time is linear, but in memories and thoughts, it’s erratic. This song takes me to a faraway place down memory lane but feels like it could have been yesterday.

“Rocking Randall
Getting rowdy

Shooting roman candles at the man in the moon

‘til the Alabama sun was breaking”

Nostalgia flows through me at “shooting roman candles at the man in the moon”. It reminds me of younger, more carefree days when family and friends would gather and literally light the sky with rockets in an empty field.

“When the winds go cold
And it blows October
I think about us shoulder to shoulder
Like those cars my thoughts roll over and over and over
In my mind

Tonight I’m in Talladega”

This song represents the good times from long ago, those that live in our memory banks. People that I love are no longer here, so reminiscing about the past doesn’t mean I want to change my now. It simply means I miss those people and the good times we had together.

But that’s how life is, “you can’t hit pause, that’s just the deal”. Enjoy today, look forward to tomorrow, and remember the past.

Tell me this: Do you have a song that gives you that nostalgic feeling?