Emily Mueller

January 24, 2008

Third Year Writing

Eng 3010.35S

‘73

            I am a song lover. I want to work in music publishing so I can work with songs. Needless to say, when trying to think of a song that has special importance to me, more than a dozen song titles come to mind. There’s Madonna's song, "Take a Bow". When I was five years old, the first thing I ever bought with my own money, a big deal to me back then, was a little cassette single for this song because I loved it so much and still do. Then there's Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby" which just might be my favorite song of all-time. There’s my life anthem song about being at the right place at the right time by Jessi Alexander called “Timing”. The song I have chosen though, is one that really stuck out from the rest. There are so many songs that if I hear them right now, I am immediately taken back to a time and place of where and when I heard it, but this song isn’t like that. From the message of this song, to the timing I heard this song, to the singer and songwriter, this song has so many different meanings to me.
 

            “‘73” is a very personal song, but it is so relatable. It’s a song about Jennifer Hanson’s life. Her parents divorced when she was six years old and in this song, she is looking back at pictures and wondering how things would have been if her parents had stayed together. There are such personal lines in this song, it’s hard to think it could be relatable, but I have never related to a song so much.
 

            The night I first heard this song, my parents had just begun the divorce process after being married for 29 years. I was lucky enough to be at the show where Jennifer debuted this song to an audience for the first time. There is a line in the song that says “here's pictures opening presents/ December 83/some with mom and some with dad/ two different Christmas trees”. Ironically, the night before, I had been watching an episode of the television show Reba. It was the Christmas episode, and it was Reba’s first Christmas with the family being separated. This show had me thinking about how Christmas would be so different for me now; it would never be the same. So when I heard Jennifer sing that line, it really struck me. For me, this song isn’t about looking back, it’s about looking forward. My parents’ divorce will change family get-togethers and Christmas. My children will probably never get to visit both of my parents together. There is a possibility of having a step-brother or step-sister. My childhood was filled with many happy family memories, but this song always makes me wonder how my future is going to be different with my parents now separated.
 

            “‘73” also has personal meaning to me because of the singer and songwriter of this song. When I was 14 years old, a song called “Beautiful Goodbye” came on Country Music Television. This gorgeous woman was singing, and it was this infectious melody of a song that once you heard, it would be stuck in your head for hours. She was a brand new country singer, and I was a brand new country music listener. I was at the age where I really needed somebody to look up to, and Jennifer Hanson ended up being that person for me. I thought she was the coolest person on the planet, and wanted to be just like her. After having three singles out on country radio in 2003, she began working on her next album. Unfortunately though, she and her label, Capitol records, parted ways and she didn’t have another single out on radio until summer of last year, four years later. She has remained my favorite singer throughout these years though, whether she was on country radio or not. I am incredibly happy that she is back on country radio once again though. I had been pushing for “’73” to be a single since the night I first heard this song. When I love a song so much, I just want the whole world to hear it, and I think this song could touch a lot of people. Her record label just decided last week to make “’73” the next single, and I cannot describe how excited I am to get to see this song take off on country radio.  I think this song could make Jennifer a big country star, and I know how hard she has worked to get to this level. She is a good person, and I just want her to be the epitome of good things happening to good people.
 

            I’ve gotten to know Jennifer a little more personally these past couple years. I met her for the first time at one of her shows in Florida when I was 15 years old. She was just so incredibly sweet to me that day, even mentioning me on stage in front of everyone. In my journal that day, I wrote that it was the best day of my life, and to this day, it pretty much was. Every time I look back on that day, I can’t help but smile. It’s not every day that you meet an artist who is so sweet to their fans. I didn’t see her again until I moved here to Nashville three years later. Even though it had been so long since she saw me last, she still remembered me. Since then, she’s had me as her guest backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. She invited me to have Thanksgiving with her family last year since my family couldn’t make it here.  She’s even had me get up on stage and sing a song with her. She is definitely the sweetest person I have ever met.
 

            The main message of this song is not really divorce, but that everything changes. People don’t always stay in love. You lose loved ones. It’s all a part of life. It’s reality. This song is a brilliant way to explain that fact. I think this song is special because everybody can find a way to relate to it, whether you were a divorced kid or not.
 

            This song is beautifully crafted. The words fit together so perfectly. My favorite line in the song is “a picture perfect moment, frozen in time”.  What an amazing way to describe a picture. It’s also a very pleasing melody with the guitars repeating the same chords, which sounds incredible with Jennifer’s gorgeous voice.
 

            As a listener, I think this song says a lot about me. It’s very simply produced with Jennifer and a guitar and a little percussion. My favorite way to hear a song is in it’s rawest form. I go to a lot of shows around town and see songwriters perform, just them and their guitar. As a thinker, this song shows how I like to reflect on the past. I’m always looking back at pictures and thinking about how life used to be. As a reader and writer, I think this song shows how I love stories. The story of Jennifer’s life unfolds throughout the song, and I really admire the way she told her story. It makes me want to be a better writer.
 

            Jennifer Hanson’s “’73” has affected me more than any other song I have ever heard. The timing of when I heard this song for the first time was perfect. The singer of this song has had a huge impact on my life.  This song has a whole different meaning to me than it does to Jennifer since she made a very personal song become relatable. I can’t wait to see this song become a huge hit for Jennifer on country radio in a couple months.