I’m not a musically talented person, but I am certainly — and deeply at times — affected by music. I’ve grown up listening to opera and classical music with my dad, Billy Joel and James Taylor with my best friends around a campfire, and the soulful strings of Yo Yo Ma’s cello have the ability to stir all sorts of emotions — sometimes simultaneously.
That said, when Maine Public caused me to think about what music moves me, my mind went to one song. Otis Redding’s “The Dock of the Bay” was on repeat in my car for the better part of a year, perhaps more. I listened to it while I drove to work and while I drove home. I listened to it on the 95 while driving from Portland to Bangor and back again. I listened to it while I sat by Casco Bay, Pushaw Lake, the Penobscot River, and the Presumscot River in Westbrook. There was something about the song that helped me grieve for my boyfriend who had died too soon. I don’t know what it was, whether it was because we had spent so much time overlooking water or dreaming about sailing together, or perhaps because it was sung by another talented man who had also left too soon. I thought about the women who must have loved Otis Redding, and how much they must have hurt when he died. The song allowed me to grieve and was also a reminder that hope exists, and love goes on. The song helped me see the beauty around me again, in a way that did not come naturally after his death.
To this day when I hear the song I feel grounded, and at peace. That is why “The Dock of the Bay” is music that moves me.