The Song in My Head

by Christina Horton

Imagine a world without music, one where not even the birds could sing. Only SILENCE and the dull sounds of everyday life would exist. Horrible, right?




Thankfully, we do have music, and some are even gifted in making it. Definitely, it plays a major part in human expression and inspiration, influencing artists, writers, and more. Because of this, I believe that you can tell a lot about a person just from what music they like.

When I was little, I listened along with my dad to the oldies of the ‘60s and ‘70s and to gentle pop songs with my mom. Also, I learned a great amount of hymns and classical music since I started playing piano and at that time attended a church that mostly sung out of the Baptist hymnal. Eventually, Christian contemporary/rock reached my ears as well as those of my family; alone (but with guidelines), I explored Christian scream-o, hip-hop, and rap. As I grew as a musician and as a typical human being, I began to find out more about myself and more about the kinds of music, including mainstream, that just expressed…me. Picking out my favorite sounds and words, I found the music to the song in my head, composed most importantly of praise to my Savior—the One who gave me the music—and also of pure enjoyment. It has the passion of Beethoven; the strong foundations of “Be Thou My Vision” and “What Wondrous Love is This”; the excitement of Bill Haley, the Beatles, and the Monkees; the spice of ragtime and jazz; the heartbeat of Jeremy Camp, Barlow Girl, and Chris Tomlin; the rock of Relient K, The Afters, Fireflight, Anberlin, and Sherwood; the originality of Sufjan Stevens and Unwed Sailor; and the creativity of my own compositions. There’s probably more…but you would be here all day if I mentioned every detail!

So, what kind of music expresses who you are?

What is the song in your head?