Last weekend I attended a concert by Rosanne Cash that I thoroughly enjoyed, in the moment and afterwards. I confess that I did not know much about her and could hardly call myself a fan (I am now). But I found the premise of her program provocative, so I decided to attend and listen for a while.
As most of you readers know, Rosanne Cash is the daughter of the late Johnny Cash, and in her own right, she is an accomplished songwriter and performer. Rosanne Cash has a haunting voice and a wonderful rapport with her stage musicians. The other night, they played a 90-minute set without a break, plus two well-received encores.
So what was the premise of her song selection? As the story goes, in 1973 she was an 18-year old aspiring country singer. Her father was alarmed that she lacked an understanding of country music, so he wrote down a list of what he considered the 100 essential country songs. He gave her the list and told her it was her
education. She should learn all these songs.
Rosanne Cash proceeded to do just that. In 2009, at age 54, she released an album titled
The List which contained a selection of the songs her father urged her to learn. The album went on to win numerous awards, and her concert the other evening featured songs from the list. I was especially moved by 500 Miles, Long Black Veil, and Girl from the North Country.
I am obviously an amateur music reviewer, but my day job is that of a positive psychologist, which is why I am writing about
The List.
Those who love us -
parents, teachers, and friends - tell us things that are important, and if we heed what we are told and make these things part of our own repertoire, life becomes better and more precious as a result. For most of us, the things we are told do not come in a numbered list, so it is probably difficult to learn their lessons. But we should certainly try.
The List is all about legacy, a personal one for Rosanne Cash but a more universal one for the rest of us who love music. My father has always loved music, and the only holiday presents I have ever given him that I knew he would enjoy were records (back in the day) and CDs (now). He taught me to love Rodgers and Hammerstein, and I would like to think I helped him to love The Beach Boys and The Beatles.
The
positive psychology take home message is that we should all have lists of what matters most. I don't necessarily means lists of songs, and I certainly don't mean bucket lists, a phrase I don't like at all because of its self-centered connotations. I mean lists that capture our own legacies, in whatever terms are most meaningful, tying us to the past and pointing us to the future.
Rosanne Cash spoke to the audience between songs, briefly but memorably. In particular, I remember her saying that her own daughter had just released an album and asked her mother "Where's my list?" To which Rosanne Cash replied, "Think about the list you'll give to your own daughter someday, and whether it will contain any of my songs."
Of course it will.
