“Songs Cheer and Heal” by Joan Y. Edwards

Singing songs can cheer you. Songs can change your mood. More than likely the songs you hear have the sounds that heal you.

My sister, Judith, (God bless her soul) studied with Native Americans  who believe that each of us has a sound that when we hear it, it heals us spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

When you were a baby, perhaps your Mother and/or Father sang lullabies to help you relax and go to sleep.

When you were just learning to walk, you heard certain sounds that made you want to dance.

When you were a teenager some music made you feel in love or swoon over the person who sang it. You imagined they were singing that particular song just for you.

If you were married, you chose songs to be played at your wedding. Chances are you didn’t choose Wagner’s Operatic music for your wedding.

If you’re feeling bad and sad and want to linger this mood and feel sorry for yourself, there are songs that will also help prolong that mood.

A song I have sung from the time I was five years old that gives me life is Flip Flap Floodle. Each time I tell the story and sing the song, I feel invigorated. I feel like I can keep on going. It’s a catchy tune. It has the same effect on the children and adults who hear it.

Flip Flap Floodle‘s Song. You keep singing it over and over again. It’s fun. It’s healing. I tried for many years to get the story published. I self-published it in 2004. It gave me a great deal of joy to accomplish this. You can buy it or only $10.00  on Amazon.com:  Flip Flap Floodle.

Beginning in 1985, I cared for my Mother, Ethel D. Meyer for 14 years. During that time I noticed the power that music played in her moods and emotions. From my bedroom one day in 2000, I heard her shout, “WHOO EEE! WHOO EEE!”

I wondered what was going on that had her so excited. It must be good. I went to her room to see why she was so happy. When I entered her room she was sitting up watching television. I looked on the television screen and I saw a man singing. It was one of those programs where they earn money for Public Television stations. Across the bottom of the screen, it flashed his name: Daniel O’Donnell. He was from Ireland. Mother was mesmerized by him. You can see why by listening to him sing “You Raise Me Up.”

Mother looked at me and said, “He shakes my corpuscles.” She used to say Daddy shook her corpuscles. He died in 1978.

I thought if this man, Daniel O’Donnell brings her so much joy, I’ll buy a video tape so she can watch him whenever she wants. They were asking $100.00 for a video. I found his videos cheaper on the internet. I believe this was the end of November 2000. I purchased one for Christmas and the next one would come for Mother’s birthday in January. I also paid for Mother to join the Daniel O’Donnell.

When Mother got the video at Christmas, she held it close to her heart and said, “MY MAN.”

Sometimes she would go around singing, “Meet me in St. Louis, Louie. Meet me at the Fair.” So I found videos of many great musicals that may have been popular when she younger. She loved watching them. She didn’t mind seeing them over and over again.

When Mother’s left hip broke and she fell earlier that year, I sang songs from my childhood and hymns that I liked. I was so frightened. The songs I sang had to be ones I knew the words to, or the melody to sing or hum. Singing these songs gave me strength to know that I’d be able to make it. They also seemed to calm Mother down. Her facial expression showed it calmed her to sing along with me or just to listen.

When Mother was in the hospital in 2009 before she died, I started singing these songs and hymns again. My sister, Janet and I sang her favorite songs and ours over and over again. Although it was her time to go have her special meeting with God in heaven, it still brought peace to her body and mind. She wasn’t able to sing this time, but you could tell by her body language that it relaxed her.

Mother died on March 18, 2009. She was 92 years young. She taught me so much about a positive attitude and about how music healed her and gave her life.

My husband, Carl, loves the music of the fifties. He can be down and out. If he hears music from the 50’s, he’s immediately upbeat and ready to face the world.

At the memorial service, funeral mass and graveside service for my Mother, we sang these hymns, folks songs, Daniel O’Donnell songs to celebrate her life.

I discovered that music was the way for healing for my Mother, my sister, my husband, my family and friends, and me, I thought I would share this information with you, in hopes that it will help you love living.

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Enjoy being your sweet self.

Never Give Up
Joan Y. Edwards
Copyright © 2010 Joan Y. Edwards. All rights reserved.
Updated September 20, 2019