Music can raise spirits… and it can save souls. In this Big Idea for Voices Carry, author Raven Oak goes deep into the music and lyrics that carried them through the highs and lows, and on to the other side.
RAVEN OAK:
Like most arts, music carries power. Not only does each song attach itself to my memories, but songs themselves serve as another means of storytelling, a critical component for me as a writer. I’ve been telling tales since I could talk, a trait that often got me into trouble as a kid. Growing up in an abusive home, I thought all families were as broken as mine, but music taught me that my life wasn’t normal.
Florida summers are hot. Scorching earth is a good term for it. Living in low-income housing, most of us kids spent our time outside as no one could afford cable, let alone air conditioning. One neighbor had both (I think he was the building’s superintendent), so when given the chance to crowd around his tiny black & white TV, we jumped at it.
Back then, a new station called MTV played music videos and exposed us all to an additional form of storytelling. A little known group called ’Til Tuesday had a debut hit with their song Voices Carry. While the video featured an abusive couple fighting, the lyrics felt…familiar. My friends chatted idly through the song, completely missing how still I sat while the words spun circles in my mind.
Hush, hush / Keep it down now / Voices carry
These were words I heard on the daily. Causing a scene meant someone might notice the way my father spoke to me or the words he said. To him, children were to be seen but not heard.
I try so hard not to get upset / Because I know all the trouble I’ll get / He tells me tears are something to hide…
Voices Carry: Amazon|B&N|Bookshop|Apple|Kobo
Author Socials: Website|Facebook|Instagram|BlueSky|TikTok|YouTube
Source: The Big Idea: Raven Oak
Recent Comments