30 Day Song Challenge - Day 6

I have lived in many places, both as a kid wherever the British Army decided to post my father, and then as an adult, as I discovered the joys of being abroad in the world. The theme for day 6 of the 30 Day Song Challenge is being reminded of somewhere, this may is tricky with so many places and so much music.

Track 1 - "I Like It" by Gerry and the Pacemakers



One of the places we were sent with the Army, several times in fact, was a town called Celle, in the north of Germany. When my elder brothers would come home from boarding school for the summer, we would go to amusement parks and zoos. One such amusement park was Heide-Park near Soltau. During one such trip there was a thunderstorm and rained lashed down while we sat in the car dejected. Being the driver, my dad was king of the cassette player, and this song came on, and my elder brother Scott muttered "well, I don't" at the end of the one chorus of "I like it".

Track 2 - "Going Home" by Runrig



Home is a troubling concept for Army brats. Is it the place you were born in, spent a few months in and then moved on to the next posting? Is it where your parents come from, and then what if they come from opposite ends of the country? Is it where you spent your childhood before secondary school, and what if you went to 4 primary schools in 4 countries? For me, home is where I spent more time than anywhere else before becoming an adult. That place is the Outer Hebrides, in particular the island of Benbecula. Sure, my brothers are scattered around the UK, and soon to be the world, my parents are in a tiny French hamlet, but home is still a windswept island on the very edge of Europe.

Track 3 - "Come Back to Camden" by Morrissey



As I said about the previous track, my parents come from opposite ends of Great Britain, mum is from Fraserburgh in Scotland, dad is a Londoner. Inevitably we spent time in London as kids, dad's mum was the only grandparent I ever actually knew. There is line in this song about drinking "tea with the taste of the Thames" which makes me think of sitting in her old council flat drinking tea that had the classic hard water scum floating on the top. We would go and try to feed the ducks in Gunnersbury Park, and instead watch the carp rise to take the bread. Nan would make cheese and onion sandwiches, sometimes I think she survived on cheese and onion sandwiches and a nice cup of tea. I love going to London whenever I have the opportunity.

This one is actually quite simple because for all my liking for London and being a Germanophile, it is always Uist that I think of most, and if I do ever tire of travelling around, hopefully it will at least be the West of Scotland that I go home to.