Sibling Assignment #116: Best Song from Another Time: Cheering for the Underdog

I gave this sibling assignment keeping up with my best theme for the month. Name a "Best Song for Stirring Up Memories of Another Time." Raymond Pert and Silver Valley Girl will be posting soon. I could spend hours replaying songs and remembering where I was, what was happening, what he was wearing, who was in the car, who was getting married, who had died,what trip I was on, or what movie theater I was sitting in.

Movie soundtracks stay with me. I learned many songs from The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins with Mrs. Williams in music at Sunnyside Elementary.   While listening to albums upstairs in the hall growing up I did fine rendentions of the songs from South Pacific and The King and I.  I never grow weary of listening to the whole soundtrack of Out of Africa, A River Runs Through It, or On Golden Pond. There are also those unforgettable movie songs that remind me of another time long ago. We sang "Mairzey Doats" driving down the Clearwater River on our way to Orofino for summer visits. I think everyone in my generation sang "On the Good Ship Lollipop" at least a few times wishing they were Shirley Temple. Who can remember time when you didn't know "Over the Rainbow"?

At this hour on this day the song that stirs up memories is "Gonna Fly Now" from the series of Rocky movies. My most vivid memory was hearing it in the original movie Rocky and wanting to get up and cheer as Rocky sprinted up the stairs triumphantly in Philly.  I knew I would get that jolt of adrenaline whether it was Rocky III or the most recent Rocky Balboa when I  heard the beginning chords of that theme. I loved being in the Rena Theater in Kellogg a few years ago at Christmastime watching the most recent installment with my siblings, wanting to run down the aisle cheering. I think we did our own rendition of the theme after we left. "Gonna Fly Now" is the quintessential underdog song. I love cheering for the underdog, I love watching underdogs progress into something great, I love the pure joy that shines in the face of an underdog.  When I watch an underdog achieve greatness, I want to shake my fists in the air and play "Gonna Fly Now".  Enjoy this powerful theme and go sprint up a flight of stairs!