“Laughter in the Rain” by Neil Sedaka #MusicMonday
Source: Amazon
Most of you are probably not that aware of the work of Neil Sedaka, a musical legend we recently lost. Neil was a singer/songwriter famous for his many contributions from the 1960's and 1970's. I was mostly too young to know his work if it weren't for my older sister and for one of his most famous songs "Laughter in the Rain," which grew to have great meaning to me.
Growing up in Syracuse, NY, we all got very comfortable with rainy days. Cloud cover was a norm. And if I'm going to be super honest, there wasn't a lot of laughter in my household most days. Nothing bad at all, but just a lot of heaviness and not a lot of super happiness. Lots of cloud cover at home too. So I would take a ray of sunshine wherever I could get it.
One of those rays of sunshine was a restaurant that we would frequent downtown called The Caroma. This place had the best baked ziti on the planet, in fact I've yet to find a better replacement anywhere in the world. This restaurant and this baked ziti would cure any ill, at least temporarily. It was a safe haven on a cloudy day.
Every time we went there, which was quite often, there were no clouds in sight, even when it was raining outside.
At every table at The Caroma, there were individual juke box music machines where for a quarter you could play your favorite tunes. My parents would never let me indulge because they felt like wasting a quarter was, well, wasting a quarter. But every single time we sat down, I kid you not, someone somewhere in the restaurant would play the song "Laughter in the Rain" by Neil Sedaka. Even long after the song was a hit.
And it was never lost on me. It was laughter (happiness) in the rain (greyness), in the lyrics and in life. The Caroma was a moment of joy for me and that song was marking the moment every time. Listening to the lyrics made me smile, right in the face of loneliness and sadness and my own "rain."
I actually think that's where I got my sense of optimism today. I'm always looking at the bright side, the silver lining. I always see a way out, no matter what. I always hear lyrics running through my head, especially when the going gets tough. I often get criticized for it and I just laugh.
Laughter in the rain.
So you can imagine when I heard that Neil Sedaka had passed away, a little smile crossed my face as I remember the joy he had given to me all those years back. He would have no way of knowing, but as a songwriter I bet he hoped people would connect with his music. I did, Neil.
It reminds me of another song lyric that's done the same for me.
The bridge in the song "MacArthur Park" sung by Donna Summer brings hope in what is otherwise a song about loss and grief. But alas, there's always another chance at life.
"There'll be another song for me, and I will sing it.
There'll be another dream for me, someone will bring it."
Those lyrics have carried me through many a trying time in life. Funny how music can do that. Thankfully, music can do just that.
For that I am greatly appreciative.
What's your experience? JIM