A THREAD: Every Breath You Take by the Police. In the words of Sophia from the Golden Girls: “Picture it...” A bright young girl in rural Manitoba who lived in a mobile home with no flush toilet, was 9, just finishing grade 4 when this song was a hit. What this song does...

2) is hit me right in the feels. It was my first “favourite” song that wasn’t country. See, I was already a local country performer as a duo with my Dad. This would not be Dad’s kinda music. I had ventured into pop, with influence from my older siblings, and suddenly...

3) there was this new love. I remember my big brother bought this tape and I could listen to this song over and over. And dream of what life was like in the fancier, grown up world outside my little bubble of... I’ll say it... poverty. I mean, we never lacked exactly... but

4) we also didn’t “have”. Things like air conditioning and flush toilets honestly seemed like... luxury for town kids. I was a Métis mixture of circumstances beyond my control. Parents were awesome and never let us feel poor. Dad worked hard and smelled of tar from roadwork...

5) and it was a fabulous time. Saturdays were for guitars and songs and playin’ spoons in the kitchen. This song takes me back to the smell of the propane stove. It was blue. The smell of Palmolive soap. That was bubble bath. The TV was black and white. The bread was homemade.

6) I was a bright, fresh faced, long-black-haired little human trying to make sense of who I would become. And that electric guitar and bass line in the first ten seconds of this song are MAGIC. They’re a time machine. I’m in that trailer and life is beautiful, simple, endless.

7) Music is something beyond us. It’s language. It’s prayer. It’s personal. It’s transformative. It’s an 80’s pop song, sure, but my 9 year old heart is still in here. She’s still hopeful for happy endings, homemade bread, a good bass line, and one more jam with her Dad. /END