I would have been 6 or 7 years old. At my grandparents place there was a record player which didn’t work, or maybe I wasn’t allowed near it. But I remember the records well, as they had Big Covers with Big Pictures, unlike small cassettes.
And there she was, an absolutely stunning girl, with a beautiful smile, and a pair of glasses that looked like the one Aunty Yasa wore, and I wanted to look like her.
She was Nana Mouskouri…
There was also a cassette, which now I know to be the Album Roses Love Sunshine.
I liked 3 songs in particular, and liked the 4th song because my grandmother loved it…
- Roses love Sunshine
- There’s a Time
- Nickels and Dimes
- Even Now (Because of Grandma)
I didn’t know the meaning of any of them, but I loved them. My Aunt, who I call “Chooti Punchi”, who always made her own clothes, looking at fashion magazines, would listen to them, and she would sing along. I liked to be like her, she was carefree, modern, and always made everyone laugh. In my eyes, she didn’t know what sadness was.
Over the passed weekend, after a tiring, yet pleasurable day of “dating”, I decided to rest on the Sunday.
One thing lead to another, and I was listening to Nana Mouskouri.
I was knocked off my feet to truly realise the meaning of her songs I liked, her life story, and how she is now settled in Switzerland, the land where a stranger came to my life, and turned my life around in 8 weeks! The land I plan to visit this August.
One particular song of her touched my heart in a way I cannot describe. She dedicates her success to each and every person who contributed to her success in the song, “Nickels and Dimes”.
So here I am, thanking everyone who she is thankful for, for getting her there, so that her songs could travel all the way to a tiny dot of an Island, Sri Lanka, and touch a little boys heart.
I listen to her songs and close my eyes, I am with my aunt, my grandma in her bed, and we are singing along in a happy bubble. And I remember how blessed I was, and know how blessed I am…
So I continue the thanks to Nana Mouskouri, all the artists, all the songs, all the heart aches, and heartfelt moments, that got expressed in a form of art, that connects so many people, from such diverse backgrounds, to a single source…
I Love You and May You Be Blessed!
Nickels and Dimes by Nana Mouskouri
And I would play my guitar and sing as the people went by
The sidewalks were crowded, but I’d just sing louder
‘Cause I didn’t mind
Spending my time spending my rhymes
And singing for nickels and dimes
A song at a time
For nickels and dimes
I’d brighten their day as they’d go on their way
As they’d brighten mine
A sidewalk rehearsal for dreams that I held in my mind
I knew that some day, in my own special way
I’d repay all their nickels and dimes
As I play my guitar and sing for the people who pay
‘Cause finally I made it to what they all call the big time
But I still remember I still owe some nickels and dimes
A song at a time
For nickels and dimes
A sidewalk rehearsal for dreams that I held in my mind
So if you remember a child on the corner of time
You’ll know that I promised to repay your
Nickels and dimes
A song at a time
For nickels and dimes
A sidewalk rehearsal for dreams that I held in my mind
So if you remember a child on the corner of time
You’ll know that I promised to repay your
Nickels and dimes
A song at a time
For nickels and dimes
A sidewalk rehearsal for dreams that I held in my mind
So if you remember a child on the corner of time
You’ll know that I promised to repay your
Nickels and dimes
A song at a time
For nickels and dimes
A sidewalk rehearsal for dreams that I held in my mind…
A Moment with Nim! 