Do you find that a long walk (hike, bike ride, or some other
personally-functional equivalent) makes you feel more yourself, or less like a self
at all?
Walking in Memphis by Marc Cohn is
90’s classic tune that takes the listener on a harmonious tour of Memphis,
Tennessee. Unfortunately, I was unaware of the original tune. My first
introduction to this tune was the remix version by Yo Gotti featuring 8 Ball.
Yo Gotti’s version speaks to me differently, due to the fact that I have walked
the streets that Yo Gotti raps about on the track. The comparison between the
two songs reflects greatly on how the common thread between the songs serves as
a means to examine one’s self.
When I am in the city of Memphis and I walk past the locations
mentioned by Marc Cohn, I may be viewed as less than by those whom may fear me.
I have lived in Tennessee for the majority of my life. Guess what? I have never
been to Graceland, but I have frequented the NIKE store that is less than a
mile away from Graceland on numerous occasions. While Marc reminisces about
Elvis Presley and his time at Sun Records, I am immersed in the history of Stax
Records and the high school that currently resides on its property.
For me, a long walk through Memphis makes me question my self
and feel more secure in myself, at the same time. While walking in Memphis can
provide a bit of suspensive freedom, I must stay alert to make sure that I do
not find my life in a suspended moment in time (Gros 3).
I love the Marc Cohn original (don't know the remix yet), and the way it evokes a powerful sense of connection with the past-not Elvis for me, so much, but just the idea of sacred ground, made sacred by those who came before us and invested themselves in time and space. But, "do I really feel the way I feel?" is a cryptic question. I didn't remember it that way, I thought I heard Marc ask "do YOU really know the way I feel?" And that's very different.
ReplyDeleteBut, when my daughter enrolled at Rhodes College a few years ago and I helped her move into her freshman dorm, I went walking in Memphis to find the former home of the late historian/novelist Shelby Foote ("The Civil War" et al)... When I found it, overgrown and abandoned, my emotions were mixed. So much creative intelligence transpired there, but he's gone and nobody I spoke with at Rhodes really even remembered him. Sic transit, Gloria. The lesson, I guess, is that we need to walk the walk for ourselves.