Farewell Blues

When we were in Kuwait the only way for me to fall asleep was to listen to music. I wasted so many batteries in my CD player because it would just repeat all night. One night in particular, soon after the war began, our base received several missile warning. When we heard them we all had to don our gas masks, and the gear that accompanied it, then bolt to the nearest bunker.

On this particular night I was listening to a song called Farewell Blues, it was on repeat through 3 different missile warnings and until the next morning. Every time an all clear was given I'd race back to my tent, scared to death, and I'd hear it playing from my headphones. It was a kind of haunting, but beautiful sound, it fit the moment perfectly. To this day whenever I hear it I am automatically transported back there, and I relive it in slow motion. 

It's funny how music enhances certain memories. Sometimes it's a memory we would rather not recall, other times it's something that we don't ever want to forget. Farewell Blues, for me, is a little bit of both. When I hear it I almost have to just sit still and listen, and although it's not a particularly cheerful memory, it's a powerful one. So everyone now and then I put it on repeat and just listen.