Zadie Martin: In today’s episode we will ask members of the SPA student body to share a song that holds a lot of meaning to them and why. Meaningful songs allow listeners to connect with themselves and others emotionally. Let’s see what students answer with.

Arden Lillemoe: Arden, He/Him, 11th grade.

Will Black: My name is Will Black, my pronouns are He/Him and I am a Junior.

Lela Tilney-Kaemmer: I’m Lela Tilney-Kaemmer, I use They/Them pronouns and I’m in 12th grade.

Martin: What is a song that means a lot to you?

Lillemoe: Um, “Sweet Baby James”, I don’t know who it’s by.

Martin: When and how did you find out about this song?

Lillemoe: Um, well my dad used to, well first of all I had it as a CD in childhood and I had this little clock radio or whatever and so it was by my bed and we would put that disk in and I would listen to it before I went to bed. Or sometimes – a lot of times – my dad would sing it to me before I went to bed.

Martin: What memories does the song bring back when you listen to it now?

Lillemoe: Um, I dunno, I mean it’s sort of just like calming to me. Um, and I guess just memories of my dad and being with my dad.

Martin: And would you recommend this song to people now?

Lillemoe: No. It’s not one in my rotation I would say.

Martin: And what age did you say that you listened to it?

Lillemoe: Um, I dunno what I started but probably whenever, honestly since I was born and then I stopped when I was probably six or seven.

Martin: This is “Sweet Baby James” by James Taylor:

[excerpt from “Sweet Baby James”]

Black: Uh, a song that means a lot to me is probably “Wagon Wheel” by Darius Rucker because it’s my dad’s favorite song and I look up to my dad a lot.

Martin: Um, so when and how did you find this song?

Black: Um, it was my dad playing it and just playing it over and over a lot so I just kind of picked it up from him.

Martin: What was so catchy about this song or what made that song stick out versus other songs that your dad played?

Black: Uh, I don’t know, I like that song in particular, it’s good, I think the chorus is pretty good in that song.

Martin: This is “Wagon Wheel” by Darius Rucker:

[excerpt from “Wagon Wheel”]

Martin: Name a song that means a lot to you.

Tilney-Kaemmer: Oh shoot, can I look [through my music]?

Martin: Mhm.

Tilney-Kaemmer: Oh, it’s called, okay, I think it’s called “In Case You Don’t Live Forever” by Ben Platt.

Martin: And um, when and how did you find this song?

Tilney-Kaemmer: Um my sister sent it to me, um, like 5 or 6 years – or like, when it first came out, so a few years ago.

Martin: And why does it have a lot of meaning for you specifically?

Tilney-Kaemmer: Um, because she just sent it to me out of the blue and then it’s one of those songs that you listen to and just like, you listen to the lyrics and hear the meaning and it’s really, really impactful and yeah, it makes you sad.

Martin: Um, would you recommend this song to other people?

Tilney-Kaemmer: Yes, but only if you wanna cry. I feel like it’s a good crying song.

Martin: This is “In Case You Don’t Live Forever” by Ben Platt:

[excerpt from “In Case You Don’t Live Forever”]

Martin: I’m Zadie Martin, and thanks for listening to this podcast episode. Make sure to check out other podcast episodes in this podcast section of Rubicon online.

Music Credits:
“Sweet Baby James” by James Taylor

“Wagon Wheel” by Daruis Rucker

“In Case You Don’t Live Forever” by Ben Platt