He reminds how in trying times some songs have boosted the spirits and he invokes a couple that represented a needed optimism in their day. It made me immediately think of Petula Clark.
In a small Texas town or in ‘big ole Houston ’ in 1965, nothing could invoke an uplift and a sense of ‘gettin going’ like Petula Clark's "Downtown."
Music does play to the ear at first blush and then to the memory of the time and place.
For me, the beat and lyrics to optimism will always call up Petula Clark with her short blond hair, petite, pretty presence and easy way with a tune. As Ms. Clark is the same age as my own petite, short haired blond mom, Pet Clark stays with me and invokes all the past that once stood as the promise of the future.
In Houston, in 1965 a wee lad could go to Herman Park and marvel at the big locomotive or walk into the fantastic new Warwick Hotel as transistor radios blared out "Downtown" around you. “Downtown”, like Papa Hemingway’s “Movable Feast” is always resonant. If you experienced it, lived it, then you’ll never lose it. It’s a touchstone for optimism; it's ensconced in your expectations.
"When you're alone
And life is making you lonely,
You can always go downtown
When you've got worries,
All the noise and the hurry
Seems to help, I know, downtown
Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city
Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose?
The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares and go
Downtown, things'll be great when you're
Downtown, no finer place for sure,
Downtown, everything's waiting for you"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GVE7lRZuFM