Sleep Earworms
Subconscious or Message?
6-2-22
I woke up with a song in my head again. This time it was Kenny Loggins' "I'm Alright." I don't particularly like that song or Kenny Loggins, so it's not like I listen to him day and night that this earworm would naturally be there. Nope. It just popped into my head last night, stuck around in all my dreams and I still have it squirming around in my brain right now. Ick. Go away Loggins!
It appears earworms or as science calls them, 'involuntary musical imagery,' don't just haunt you when you're awake but also can invade your sleep.
Good to know. But why do I always get sleep earworms of songs that I have not heard in ages? You would think I would only get sleep earworms of songs that I heard just before going to bed. During the day I only get earworms of songs I hear. So what's really going on?
Is it my subconscious picking out songs at random or is it a supernatural message? I will say that before I fell asleep last night I asked God why He seemed to have left me lately. I haven't really heard from Him and wished He would pop up once in awhile to guide me a bit, especially since lately I've been at a crossroads in my life. Maybe it was God's message to me that it's alright?
I’ll take that message, thank you God, but Loggins? God has a sense of humor since He knows I cringe at Loggins’ songs. I think he just wants me to remember these lyrics:
I'm alright Nobody worry 'bout me Why you got to gimme a fight? Can't you just let it be?
God's basically telling me, I'm here, I'm alright, why you gotta be hassling me all the time Napoleon? Can't you just live your life without needing daily affirmations, you know I am always here for you. He's right you know. Me of little faith.
So, I put Kenny Loggins' sleep earworm into my God Playlist, which is a playlist of songs I have woken up to in the past. I figure sleep earworms are God's messages to me. Here is my God Playlist so far:
By and By - Elvis Presley
Could I've Been so Blind - Black Crowes
Don't You Worry Bout a Thing - Stevie Wonder
Drowning Man - U2
Everytime I Think of You - Babys
Generator - Foo Fighters
I Don't Care Anymore - Phil Collins
I'm Alright - Kenny Loggins
It's Alright - Candlebox
I'm in You - Peter Frampton
Like a Song - U2
Love is the Answer - England Dan
New Day for You - Basia
No Myth - Michael Penn
Roll to Me - Del Amitri
Running in the Family - Level 42
Run On - Elvis Presley
Songbird - Fleetwood Mac
Standing Still - Jewel
Starseed - Our Lady Peace
Taking It All Too Hard - Genesis
To Be With You Again - Level 42
Tower of Babel - Elton John
Wind of Change - Peter Frampton
You Don't Have to Worry - Peter Frampton
What I take from that list of titles, and their lyrics, is that God is saying to me, and to all of us, † "Everything is OK, why worry, I exist, and I have your back always." † Also, I take it from that list that God likes to listen to Peter Frampton!
So, this morning I feel better about everything even with the dreaded Loggins earworm still playing in my head. God is there, never leaves us, and has our back every day, no matter what is happening around us.
God uses so many things to let us know He’s there and He’s listening! I’ve never heard the term earworm for this phenomenon, so thanks for teaching me a new word!
This is a great list, but Napoleon! - please consider listening to some Christian music. Those earworms are the best! I hate to admit that I used to love Kenny Loggins, but then I’ve listened to a fairly wide, deep and eclectic range of music throughout my life - everything but rap! As a lifelong music lover, there is always music either in the air or in my head, and I often wonder what kind of music there will be in heaven. Music’s mysterious relationship to God is unceasingly intriguing! I love the idea that people who have lost their minds to advanced dementia or Alzheimer’s, STILL remember songs. I knew an old woman who didn’t know her family members, but sang hymns from her nursing home bed!
My worship experience is often found primarily in the music (hymns) and Liturgy. I love it when an earworm visits me, and now I have a catchy name for it! 😂
I get those waking earworms too. I used to just happily run with them (sing or listen to the song once or twice) to satisfy what I was interpreting as my brain's song request.
Then came the fateful day when I woke up with the lyrics from a video song by Lemon Jelly running through my head, called "Nice Weather for Ducks". The lyrics include "All the ducks are swimming in the water, fal de rol de rol da" . I started happily singing the bit, off and on for a few minutes.
Then my (at the time) teen-aged daughter came downstairs and told me she'd just been told on the phone that a good friend of hers had drowned the night before, on a trip up north with some mutual acquaintances . He was probably the most decent, kind teen-ager I'd ever met, too.
What do you make of this sad story?
This experience left me pretty wary of ear worms.