A friend once remarked to me: almost everything that one has lost can be acquired again, other than one's innocence. And although I first heard this song long before this thought was expressed to me, it has been fused with it almost as though it was the description I did not know I was seeking to the song. Undoubtedly though, innocence is what this track evokes complete with the image of Southern open skies and green fields.
Written and performed by Tom T. Hall aka The Storyteller, That's How I Got to Memphis, is a country music classic. The vivid imagery it portrays and the emotion it delivers is not commonplace, even in the genre. I love the simplicity of the track: it bears no pretentions. The words mean what they are and there is no duplicity in intention, quite unlike how the same emotion would be expressed today, lost in endlessly confusing complicated phrases delivered with self-important resignation. There is a charm to this track: it reminisces person and city both, reflective of how certain places and certain people cannot be separated from one other, highlighting--what we often ignore--the importance of geography. It is a versatile song too, perfect for your road trip, throwback, country craze, or plain and simple love.
If you are in the mood for some plain and old love this week, this track is what you need.
You can learn more about Tom T. Hall here:
About the curator - Aarushi Aggarwal
Aarushi is a senior at college and is majoring in history and international relations. Her music library is as much home to jazz as it is to Indian classical. Her passion for discovering new music far supersedes other equally important things like finishing assignments on time. She loves dogs, coffee and chocolate.
