BlogElul 13: Remember

When I was studying at The Boston Conservatory, we did an outreach concert for the Alzheimer's unit at a local nursing home.

One of the tenors sang "Try to Remember" from The Fantasticks.

When he started to sing, the rest of us murmured that perhaps the song -- beautiful as it is -- was a poor choice for this particular venue: 

Try to remember the kind of September

When life was slow and oh, so mellow.Try to remember the kind of SeptemberWhen grass was green and grain was yellow.Try to remember the kind of SeptemberWhen you were a tender and callow fellow.Try to remember, and if you remember,Then follow.

Try to remember when life was so tender
When no one wept except the willow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
When dreams were kept beside your pillow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
When love was an ember about to billow.
Try to remember and if you remember
then follow.

Deep in December it's nice to remember
Although you know the snow will follow.
Deep in December it's nice to remember
Without a hurt the heart will hollow.
Deep in December
it's nice to remember
The fire of September that made you mellow.
Deep in December our hearts should remember and follow.

The song speaks to exactly who the people in the audience used to be -- the part of their lives that they remember now that Alzheimer's has taken away their ability to acquire new memories. The oldest memories are the last to go, and a song like this has the ability to bring such memories to the forefront.

The looks on the faces of the residents were wistful; some were filled with tears.

The song may have been a poor programming choice in theory, but in practice it succeeded in doing just what good art is supposed to do: it changed the status quo and built connections.