Thinking About You

Have you ever been so reminded of something by a song? I have been for quite a lot of times. The Bangles hit Eternal Flame always brings me to my younger years when we used to live near a cockpit, a rice mill and a tinsmith (imagine the noise we have to bear on any given Sunday). What does a cockpit, a rice mill or a tinsmith have to do with a love song? You will have to guess that the song, among other hits of the time, was played in between cockfights.

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I realized that being exposed to hit songs at a young age can cause fixation to them. With all the happy memories of tumbling on stairways, crying over a banana cue, disassembling sister's precious watch, and losing a couple of cards from brother's super tramp collection, there is always a reverberating hit song associated to every significant childhood event. Michael Jackson's One Day in Your Life for some time did make me cry whenever I remember that I lost mother's potted flower at school after an event.

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Just recently, while having a shower, a song occured to me -- Thinking About You. It was not a particularly popular song as it was a track from the album Pablo Honey, the same album that contained the smashing hit Creep. Radiohead struck the airwaves among the grunge tinged hits by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, etc. It was during this time that the news about Kurt Cobain's suicide shocked us, grunge fanatics (self-declared), while undergoing our PMT officer training in high school. It was also during those "uto-an" training days that I was randomly asked to sing in front of fellow cadets/cadettes during a break. I could remember that I sang Creep in front of the cheering and jeering crowd. It was a shameful experience especially when what they are cheering or jeering about was my supposed affection for a girl in the corner with her head bowed down. While I try to forget the so-called Creep incident, Thinking About You still makes me recall.

Been thinking about you
Your record's a hit
Your eyes are on my wall
Your teeth are over there
But I'm still no one
And you're my star
What do you care?

Been thinking about you
And there's no rest
Should I still love you
Still see you in bed
But I'm playing with myself
What do you care?
When the other men are far far better

All the things you've got
All the things you need
Who bought you cigarettes
Who bribed the company to come and see you honey?

I've been thinking about you
So how can you sleep
These people aren't your friends
They're paid to kiss your feet
They don't know what I know
And why should you care
When I'm not there

Been thinking about you
And there's no rest
Should I still love you
Still see you in bed
But I'm playing with myself
What do you care?
When I'm not there.

All the things you've got
That you'll never need
All the things you've got
I've bled and I'd bleed to please you
... honey

Been thinking about you..