In a recent post, Who Was That?!, I commented on the experience of hearing an unfamiliar song/artist on the radio, being instantly hooked, and setting out both to learn and hear more.  Last night, I had another kind of aural experience: that of hearing a particular song that I liked long ago–enough to have bought the LP–but that I hadn’t heard in years and years…and years.  While browsing through a Kenneth Cole outlet looking for a bargain on shoes for a forthcoming trip, I was literally stopped in my tracks by “The Ghost In You”, from the Psychedelic Furs’ 1984 album Mirror Moves.

I stayed put while the entire song played, singing along under my breath to the only lyrics that remained accessible in my increasingly calcified long-term memory: “And love, love, love/Is all of heaven away.” I’m generally not a big fan of synthesized sounds, but the breathy keyboards (a Fairlight synthesizer) that open the song and continue throughout lend a haunting (pun intended, I suppose), ethereal quality to the number that I love.  Lead vocalist Richard Butler doesn’t have the greatest singing voice–he’s a member of the Rex Harrison school of ‘sing-speak’–but the loveliest melodies (paired with the highlighted text below) still hit home.

I didn’t find a pair of shoes, but I left the store with things that, although intangible, were more meaningful: a lovely song playing on a loop in my head and some fond memories.  This is one of the extraordinary things about music: its ability to evoke memories of a particular person, of a particular place or event, or, in this instance, a specific period of time.  Twenty-nine years ago, I was just starting medical school, my hair wasn’t yet gray, and my responsibilities were few…i.e., I was young.  But I wasn’t nearly as wise as I am now.

See what you think.

A man in my shoes runs a light
And all the papers lied tonight
But falling over you
Is the news of the day
Angels fall like rain
And love, love, love
Is all of heaven away

Inside you the time moves and she don’t fade
The ghost in you, she don’t fade
Inside you the time moves and she don’t fade

A race is on, I’m on your side
And here in you, my engines die
I’m in a mood for you
Or running away
Stars come down in you
And love, love, love
You can’t give it away

Inside you the time moves and she don’t fade
The ghost in you, she don’t fade
Inside you the time moves and she don’t fade

Don’t you go, it makes no sense
When all your talk and supermen
Just take away the time
And get in the way
Ain’t it just like rain?
And love, love, love
Is only heaven away

Inside you the time moves and she don’t fade
The ghost in you, she don’t fade…..