Do you ever listen to those songs that cause a flashback which you weren’t anticipating? Do you know the feeling it gives you when you say, “Oh my gosh, I haven’t heard this song in forever!” Granted that the song you’re hearing is a good one, there is nothing better than being reunited with an old tune.

During a family road trip, my dad usually plugs in his iPhone playing all of the lame 80’s bands. As I stated in my first blog, I’m not so much into that decade. But there is a band that I had not listened to in quite a long time and they were very much the opposite of lame, and also not from the 80’s. The band is called Nickel Creek and the song that jogged my memory is known as “The Lighthouse’s Tale”.

The song begins with a lighthearted introduction from the banjo. Then, unlike many songs these days whose lyrics are merely situational or subject oriented, this song tells a story. It tells the story of a lighthouse who builds a relationship with it’s keeper. It tells of how the keeper falls in love with a beautiful woman. It tells of her going on a journey, but how her ship crashed against rocks from a raging storm. It tells of how the keeper found her body washed up on the sand the next day. It tells of how he promises her that they will be together soon. It tells of how the keeper took his own life.

Though this song has a morbid tone lyrically, it is a song that has the ability to evoke sadness. The first time I heard this song in a long time in the car that day, my eyes welled up with tears and I couldn’t stop myself. This song uses no metaphors or tricks…it is blunt and honest. That is something that you will see as a trend in bluegrass music. It is always about a story or an occurrence. Sometimes, I find that there is nothing else I would rather listen to than the music with a story.