That Song in My Head...
For as long as I can remember - I wake up every morning with a song in my head. There is no rhyme or reason why my brain picks that particular song. It might be one that I haven't heard in a long time. It will be a specific lyric that will play over and over in my head as I do my morning chores. Then as the day progresses and life happens, the song fades out of memory. I may not even recall what the song was by the end of the day.
The next day it happens all over again...with a different song.
It's really pretty cool! Turns out there is actually a name for it - "Earworm" - I would have picked something cooler to call it....but there it is....If your brain does the song thing, then you have an Earworm too.
I know why my brain does it. Because that is the way I was raised. Seriously!
Big Sis and I woke up to the sound of our Father singing in the kitchen as he cooked breakfast. Every day that we were with him, he sang. The smell of biscuits and gravy, bacon and the joyous sound of a Country song being belted out, was the best part of my day!
Born in Texas to a large Texas family, country music was a staple in our home, no matter who I lived with. Hence the reason for a Country song. Being a child of the 50's and 60's my brain will randomly pick some songs from that era as well.
Then a few days ago...I woke up with no song!! I couldn't even think of a song to start singing! It was a little unnerving actually. I found it odd after all these years to not wake up with a song in my head.
By the third day I was becoming both concerned and curious. So I did what most of us do when we need an answer to a puzzling question.... I GOOGLED it !! And there it was! A scientific answer to my dilemma. Whoop! Whoop!
"The brain has its own jukebox. A personal sound system for your private listening pleasure. The downside is that it has a mind of its own. It often chooses the songs and it frequently gets stuck, playing a particular tune over and over until you’re sick of it. Psychologists have nicknamed these mental tunes “earworms” (from the German Ohrwurm). A study from 2009 found that they can last anywhere between minutes to hours, but that they’re only unpleasant in a minority of cases." (source posted below)
In my case it is never unpleasant. I always welcome the song because it keeps me in a mostly positive frame of mind. However, I have noticed a pattern. When I'm feeling great, focused on the positive, not much stress or worry....then that is when the Country songs dominate. That makes sense. Being with my Father were some of the best years of my life. So warm and fuzzy happy feelings are triggered by the Country music.
When it's a 50's or 60's song that earworms it's way into my head, then I am in a more nostalgic frame of mind. When it's a spiritual song, it's often because I'm worried and/or struggling to find a solution to a problem; then realizing that it is beyond my ability to solve. The spiritual songs give me hope and comfort. They are a reminder that there is someone Wiser than I that can and will solve the problem in the best way possible.
So, what about You? Do you have Earworms?
https://digest.bps.org.uk/2011/11/08/what-triggers-an-earworm-the-song-thats-stuck-in-your-head/