Memphis Roar

“I was born by a river,” sang Otis Redding in his cover of Sam Cooke’s A Change is Gonna Come. Otis Redding recorded one of his first hits at Stax/Volt Records  in Memphis, TN, a city whose soul was shaped by the music it has produced. He was nicknamed “King of the Memphis Sound”. This was the first song that played as I hit shuffle on my iPod riding down Interstate 59 on my way to New Orleans, LA. I am on my way to meet my family; my family that still lives in Memphis, TN.

It is the holiday season. It is hard not to think about the things which are most important to you; the things that shape who you are. My family and friends are the first things that come to mind and, as a result, I cannot help but think of all of the memories with those people in my hometown. In trying to explain these connections, I feel like my story is best explained by music.

“Maybe you will understand me a little better if I was to write you a letter,” wrote Ray LaMontagne in Write You a Letter.

You see, I was born by a river; the Mississippi River in Memphis, TN. I have been away from Memphis for almost four years now and there is something about the city that pulls me in every time I am back. People can disparage the city, people, government officials, local economy and even the local school all they want, but there is something about anything “Memphis” that I love regardless of what others say. I love the four-foot-wide lanes on Poplar Avenue. I love being able to drive only a quarter of a mile between multi-million-dollar estates and government-owned shotgun style homes. “All of the air you breathe has after-taste,” sings The Graham Colton Band.

In the words of Damien Rice in The Animals Were Gone, “I love your depression and I love your double chin. I love most everything you bring to this offering. Oh, I know I left you. Waking up without you is like drinking from an empty cup.”

Everywhere you turn is the constant confrontation of reality. Memphis may not be the most aesthetically pleasing city, but it will always be the place that I know I can “lean on”. It is where most of my support system still abides. Even living in Birmingham, AL, there is not a day that goes by that the city’s name does not come off the tip of my tongue.

“Homes, places we have grown, we live in a beautiful world, everybody here has got somebody to lean on,” sings Coldplay in Beautiful World.

I know at some point, you are going to start asking, “How is he going to tie this story into the University of Memphis or their sports teams?” I do not think you will ever hear Josh Pastner sing this saying, but in the words of this season’s University of Memphis marketing campaign, “One City. One Team. One Name.”

Memphis is in my blood. More than likely, if you are reading this, you have either lived in Memphis in the past like me or even still do today. My plea to you is that you remember that it is in your blood as well. When I think about the Bluff City, the negative is not the first thing that comes to my mind. I am flooded by positive thoughts and memories. I am deprived of experiencing these positives on a daily basis. So, if you still live in Memphis, take full advantage of the opportunity you have; for me and others like me.

“Reestablish blood relation through wine and drunken conversation. Call your brother, give him love, because the broken pieces we will sew. Without this would there be reason to celebrate. On this holiday, I beg and pray, that you would fill the room with conversation, holding hands underneath all the flashing decorations; everything aside for now.” – The Honorary Title, Reason to Celebrate