Sepetmber Songs

And that annoying voice in your head

SEPTEMBER - it’s a special time of year.

It has a unique feel to it, like the end of something and the beginning of something else.

Maybe it’s because summer has passed and for many, those longer days, holidays and time away from work together with the time spent with their love ones and happy places has gone, replaced by the old routines.

*OF COURSE IF YOU LIVE IN AUSTRALIA THEN THE SEASONS ARE ALL BACK TO FRONT AND SEPTEMBER IS SPRING (I THINK?)

Reflection is a feature of September (for me anyway).

Questions bubble up in my little mind;

What’s been going well?

What’s the one thing you’d like to do before the end of the year?

How can I help the other people in my life?

Should I buy a motorbike?

And many more …

However, there is a downside to all of this.

Too much time spent on self-reflection becomes counter-productive.

There is a point (let’s say after about 4 minutes) when previously sunny thoughts begin to get swamped by those seeping grey clouds of DOOM!

Perhaps this is just me.

I am Scottish after all and Scottish people do have a reputation for being a bunch of miserable, moaning, tight-fisted, dour, chip-on-their-shoulders types (an outrageous stereotype of course!) but a few minutes of thinking time and up pops that whiny little voice that just keeps going and going;

That’s never going to work

How old are you? Five?

Just do something easier

No chance!

And so it goes.

There are defences against this internal tendency.

Strong alcohol was wrongly prescribed for such conditions to generations of Scots but when everyone eventually sobered up there was a collective realisation that drinking pints of whisky is never to going to lead to any useful personal enlightenments.

I have found two useful weapons in the fight with the voice of inner doom.

FIRST - getting out into nature.

Yes, there is nothing like stamping about a boggy hill in leaky boots while being targeted by squadrons of midges to take your mind off all the things that are wrong in your own little world.

The sheer scale of sky (and the land) really helps you to realise how hopelessly insignificant you really are.

This is hugely comforting and really takes the pressure off the stuff you’ve been fretting about.

Suddenly, the toilet habits of your neighbours cat in YOUR garden seems somehow less triggering.

SECOND - music, preferably listened to at an unreasonable volume on headphones.

We all have music that can lift our spirits, shift our perspective, take us backwards and forwards in time and place. It really is a kind of magic. And it can drown out that inner whinger, at least for a while.

Hopefully, long enough to carry on with the next thing.

For me, September brings to mind two songs.

The first is WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS *** by Green Day.

The first thing that connected me with this song was the huge, stadium drum sound and the chiming celtic-punky guitar and then the great imagery in the lyrics …

here comes the rain again, falling from the stars

as my memory rests but never forgets what I lost

wake me up when September ends

And of course the word September …

The second song is September Song by Ian McCullough.

His voice is unique and heartfelt but never showy. In another time he may have been a Frank Sinatra but instead he was part of some of the best alternative music of the early 80’s (see Ocean Rain).

And the days dwindle down

To a precious few . . .

September, November . . .

And these few precious days I’ll spend with you.

These precious days I’ll spend with you.

Thanks Ian!

And thanks to you for reading.

Please feel free to leave your own tips for quieting that inner voice and of course any music recommendation you have on the September theme (or not!)

Until next time (October?) - take care and just ignore that little voice.

***

Billie Joe Armstrong shares the emotional backstory to his Green Day hit before performing the track live with the band