Music…

I love music. Music is in my soul. I listen to it pretty much from the moment I get up to the moment I go to bed. Don’t get me wrong, I love my quiet time, but music inspires me, and makes me feel emotions in a non-logical way. I am a very logical thinker, so it’s nice to have a break from my brain always going, going, going. Because I swear it doesn’t turn off. Naturally, I love music that makes me think and artists that produce music with meaning. I love listening to all kinds of music, and I like almost everything, but I am not a big fan of current rap/hip hop. Because of this, I listen to music differently than most people. I always listen to a song multiple times when I listen to it for the first time before I judge it. Usually, 4 times. I listen to the lyrics, and the feelings they invoke. I listen to the instruments because I love instrumental music. I listen to just to hear the meaning.

I grew up listening to classic rock music—artists like Molly Hatchet, Fleetwood Mac, and Aerosmith among others. But, then we would listen to Prince, Michael Jackson, Abba, and Marvin Gaye. Music was a large part of my childhood and teenage years and are in many of my memories. EVERY Lehman road trip involved Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours,” which is one of my favorite albums to this day. I had the opportunity to see two members of Fleetwood Mac last summer, and even in their old age, it was amazing! I remember lying on my Grandparents’ floor listening to “The Phantom of Opera” with my Grandma, and I still love that soundtrack. I can’t listen to “Music of the Night” without thinking of my Grandma Teri.

I listen to music when I want to be inspired. Some of my best poetry was written when I was listening to music. When I was in Greece, I listened to Greek music, and I felt every word, even though I didn’t understand what they were saying. I wrote some of my favorite/best poetry as I overlooked the water, listening to beautiful Greek instrumental music, and my favorite artist, Mixalis Hatzigiannis. His voice has a beauty I’d never heard before, and I still love listening to it.

When I was in 5^th grade, my friend Melissa introduced me to the beautiful world of country. When we were in Elementary school, the popular artists were Shania Twain, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, and George Strait, etc. Music that meant something. I feel like country music nowadays has lost a little of the tradition of the man/woman and their guitar singing about life. I am a traditionalist in that sense. Country music today is mostly pop—really good pop—but still pop. But my favorite artist, a guy from Arizona—Dierks Bentley—is real country. His new album exemplifies what country music should be. His voice isn’t crazy. He really doesn’t have a huge range, but his nuances are what make the songs great. He sings about life and love and the strength of human spirit and nature. I have waited a long time for this album, as his last album was a little too pop music for me. “The Mountain” is a little more of the old school Dierks’ style I love.

I have loved Dierks for a long time. The summer after my freshmen year of college, my Grandma Teri, the person I considered my number one cheerleader in the world, passed away, after a ten year battle with breast cancer. She passed away July 12, 2003. That August Dierks’ song “My Last Name” was released. The song hit me hard. It’s about the importance of the singer’s last name—how it was carried from his grandfather, who died in WWII, and he had to beat someone up who made fun of it. I was named after my grandma. Her name was Teresa Elaine Morgan. My name is Morgan Laine Lehman. She hated her first name, so when my mom named me, her maiden name became my first. To carry someone’s name as yours means something. There is a verse in the song that says, “Daddy always told me far back as I recall, Son, your part of somethin’, you represent us all, So keep it how you got it, as solid as it came, It’s my last name. Passed down from generations too far back to trace, I can see all my relations when I look into my face, May never make it famous but I’ll never bring it shame, It’s my last name.” Those words have carried me through a lot in my life. My actions represent who my grandma was. In a sense, I am her. And I never be famous, but the name Morgan will never bring Teresa Elaine Morgan shame. I want to make her proud of everything I do.

I loved his first album. But, the music only got better. Dierks cherish the traditional country singers, like George Jones, and the bluegrass generation that came before. I love bluegrass music. It tells the story of the people that write it. Until “The Mountain” I would say that Dierks’ bluegrass album. “Up on the Ridge” was his best. He’s always written and sang music that’s relatable to the people he’s singing to. He represents his audience. He sings about America and about the soldiers. He is a man of the people.

In 2014, he released his album, “Riser” with the title song being a song meant to uplift and inspire. That’s what it did for me. I was going through a really hard time—I lived in Pennsylvania, and even though I had a good job, I hated it. Pennsylvania is not where I belonged. I woke up almost every morning and cried. I listened to that song every day, and I knew I could get through my time in PA. And eventually, I did return home. (Dierks’ song “Home” describes NC perfectly). I have sent that song to people when they were having hard times, and I believe that it has lifted their spirits.

Then “The Mountain.” I can’t speak highly enough this album. It’s what I call a “thinking man’s album.” It has songs that lets you know where Dierks is in life and what his thought process is. It has lyrics that make me think about life—all aspects of life. My favorite song is probably “Son of the Sun,” which is about being in nature, and enjoying the moments nature brings. But then “You Can’t Bring Me Down” is a song of perseverance. I can’t help but smile when I listen to it. This album has something to say, and I think people need to listen to it. Most of all the album attests to how we should live life: enjoying each and every moment!

Listen to music in your life, and follow what your heart tells you as you do!