As a 7-year old in 1965, I remember the entire family loading into the car and going to the movie theater to see The Sound of Music. It was a big deal.
My parents purchased the album soundtrack. It was the first time I realized that music from a movie could be purchased and listened to again and again. For the next few years, the music was played often enough that I knew all the songs and words by heart.
At some point the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, and Billy Joel made the Rogers and Hammerstein music seem syrupy and unsophisticated.
Fast-forward to August 1982 and digital music began re-igniting album sales with the sale of the first commercial compact disc. Sometime in the late 80s or 90s, I was a member of BMG Music club. I ended up purchasing The Sound of Music CD soundtrack.
An interesting thing occurred. I noticed that I enjoyed listening to those familiar songs with simple lyrics. I was transported back to a earlier time. Life was innocent. The songs had meaning and depth that I didn’t comprehend as a 7-year old. Life truths were being revealed in words and music that I knew by heart yet previously were not heard or understood.
- The hills are alive with the sound of music … I go to the hills when my heart is lonely.
- When the dog bites, when the bee stings, … When I’m feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things, … And then I don’t feel so bad.
- Let’s start at the very beginning, A very good place to start, When you read, you begin with A, B, C (Do Re Me)
- Climb every mountain, Ford every stream, Follow every rainbow, ‘Till you find your dream.
- Edelweiss, Edelweiss, Bless my homeland forever
- Nothing comes from nothing, Nothing ever could. So somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good
- Regretfully they tell us but firmly they compel us, To say goodbye to you. So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, good night.
The Sound of Music has become an ABC holiday tradition even though it doesn’t have anything to do with Christmas. Last night I watched it for the umpteenth time.
I still get a chill down my spin when Julie Andrews (Maria) hits the high notes at the end of Do-Re-Me. And I get choked-up when the Captain suddenly allows his hardened-heart to soften as the children sing Edelweiss. The same when Maria and the Captain – two human beings suffering from past pains – finally open their hearts to each other.
The movie was made in a different time. The political correctness that feminism brought into our culture is still a decade away. Maria embraces the role of governess and eventually wife and mother. The theme of serving others at the sacrifice to one’s own desires is lost in today’s movies – and culture.
The movie has sharp contrasts. The good guys are good and the bad guys are bad.
Maria is good. The children are good. The Nazis are bad. The Captain starts out unlikeable but becomes good. The nuns are good but even they sin from time-to-time. Max is lovably bad. The Baroness is mostly phony but does the right thing in the end – she shows compassion and grace while still managing to be 100% self-serving.
I love The Sound of Music. It lifts my heart and spirits whenever I watch it or hear the songs. It re-affirms my belief in love. It reminds me of the goodness of the human spirit. It takes me to an ideal time and place.
Movies like Gone With The Wind, It’s A Wonderful Life, and The Wizard Of Oz are iconic movies that have also withstood the test of time. But I didn’t first see those movies with my parents and four siblings as a 7-year old.
Forrest Gump is iconic. It’s held up well for 22-years. But that movie was first seen through the eyes of a 36-year old man with an already hardened heart – and with an entrepreneurial spirit of cashing in.
Movies and music have a way of making us remember a certain time and place. The Sound of Music was an epic movie with great songs and music. It still brings a tear to my eye every time I watch it. And I get a chill down my spine whenever Julie Andrews sings.