When I was eleven, a girl at school asked, “What’s your favourite song?” Looking back, I realise her question was a trap. Of course, I fell straight into it.
“Delilah,” I replied, plucking a random song out of my memory.
“Delilah?”
“Yes. Tom Jones.”
The girl smirked and shouted over her shoulder to her friends, “Sue likes Delilah!”
As I listened to the girls’ laughter, I realised that Tom Jones wasn’t cool. His music belonged to our parents’ time.
I only knew about Tom Jones because I’d heard his music at home. My mother had his record albums.
So, I failed the cool test. Delilah confirmed that I was different. I didn’t belong to the popular girl gang.
Several years ago, I heard that Tom Jones was coming to a nearby vineyard to give a Day on the Green concert. I told my daughter, Gemma-Rose, about this event, saying, “Nanna used to love Tom Jones.” And she replied, “We could get tickets and take her to the concert for her birthday.”
“What’s your favourite song?” I wonder what the ‘correct’ answer was to that question all those years ago. I probably should have said, “Puppy Love by Donny Osmond.” That was the most popular song in Australia at the time.
Puppy Love? Donny Osmond? That no longer sounds cool. What’s cool changes with time, which means we must keep changing our opinions if we want to keep up with the trendsetters. We must always echo what they say.
Does conforming our opinions draw us close together and make us one? Or have the cool kids got it wrong? Is it our differences that connect us together?
Do I need to be me and you need to be you? Should we let our kids be who they are? Do we all bring something unique and necessary to our families and the world? Do we need one another?
Trying to be the same results in competition and comparison. But when we use our differences to work together and help each other, we can all shine.
Our differences are our superpower. Isn’t that cool?
Gemma-Rose and I never got to see Tom Jones because, unfortunately, we weren’t free on any of the concert dates, so we didn’t get to witness the passion of the fans and learn why they love this music. But just imagine if we’d got to experience the songs belonging to another generation. What if I’d heard Tom Jones singing Delilah live? How cool would that have been?
Two More Cool Music Stories
Heavy Metal Music and Keeping Kids Safe
Why don’t we stand firm and have confidence in our opinions and decisions? Why don’t we trust ourselves? Why are we so easily swayed by other people? Is it because we have a deep longing for acceptance and a place to belong?
Gemma-Rose wears her Metallica t-shirt, which doesn’t indicate a love of heavy metal music. Instead, it represents a connection between a father and a daughter. It’s a symbol of their love.
Love?
Are strong bonds of love and connection the best way to keep our kids safe?
Unschool: Disco Boots and Old Stories
While Gemma-Rose and I enjoy coffee together, we listen to the music playing in the background, and I say, “This is Dad’s and my music! We listened to these songs when we were your age.” I tell my youngest daughter how we’d save our money, buy vinyl record albums with covers we examined intently, and listen to them on turntables.
Top Image
A few years ago, Imogen sang a song from another generation – one by the Beatles, who are always cool! – while sitting on these stone steps in the bush. Sophie filmed Imogen singing. Charlotte, Gemma-Rose, and I also contributed our skills. Working together, we did something impossible to do alone: we created a music video.
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