Home » Tanzania » Music and Football... (26 May 2002. Moshi, Tz)

[I�m in Moshi, Tanzania - at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro.</br>
Here are some thoughts on MUSIC, and the first of my tales of the WORLD CUP, from an Africa perspective. Enjoy�]
</br>
�Thank you for the Music� - ABBA

Music and Football... (26 May 2002. Moshi, Tz)

Roundtheworldbybike
2005-11-18 11:18:18

Displayed times (last time: )

I didn�t bring any music on this trip. The choice of silence was a deliberate decision- it was a challenge that I set myself. Travelling with music gives you such an option for escape- escape from pain, loneliness, boredom, Africa: anything you want! So I decided to see whether I could manage on my own. But I have failed the challenge of silence: I need music to keep me going.

I have lots of different music in my head and it comes to me in a whole range of situations. Exhausted, determined, racing against the setting of the sun I bellow U2�s �Pride�, Eagle Eyed Cherry, Guns �n� Roses, �Don�t let go, you�ve got the music in you�. It�s music with memories- of situations and frames of mind, memories to draw on for strength.

Sometimes I am lonely, or mellowed by the enormity of a sky or the length of a horizon-reaching road. I think of home, friends, better times: Greenday�s �Time of your Life� (�So take these photographs and still frames in your mind� there�s something unpredictable but in the end it�s right, I hope you had the time of your life�), Simon and Garfunkel (�And every stranger�s face I see reminds me that I long to be Homeward Bound�), Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Dido (�I want to thank you for giving me the best days of my life�), Counting Crows (�She�s looking at you�. I don�t think so, she�s looking at me!�), Cosby, Stills and Nash�s �Pre-Road Downs�, David Gray (�Friday night and I�m going nowhere: all the lights are changing green to red�), and Cat Stevens (�How can I try to explain�. I know I have to go away�).

Then of course there is jubilation- at being the only person in the whole world, cycling carefree down a deserted road at sunrise: U2 (�It�s a Beautiful Day, don�t let it get away�), The Doors, James, �I can�t wait to be on the road again�, Leeds United�s �Marching on Together� and David Gray (�Saturday ...