Songs That Haunted Me Until I Possessed Them

Some songs I never heard from the original artist. Some I never heard a full song. Some I never knew the name of the song. Some I never knew the singer. But I stuck with them for years and finally caught them, nay, possessed them fully until I heard them to my heart's content. Let me list a few I can remember.

1) Good Vibrations: This song is a classic and was part of a collection of Hugo Montenegro's songs. I remember hearing it on my father's records when i was as young as 9 years, trying to assimilate as much of it as I could then heard it again someplace and then someplace else etc. Until the other day, when all of 43 years old, I finally traced the song. It was sung by the Beach Boys. Now I am at peace.

2) The Sholay theme: I was always fascinated by it and only heard it in the movie. It never struck me that I could search for it on the net and when I did I possessed it instantly. Once again a journey from a 9 year old to a 43 year old.

3) Seene Mein Jalan: I remember Chanti, my sister, telling me that one of her seniors sang this song and sang it well at REC, Warangal, circa 1983. I don't know why it stuck in my head but I was elated when I caught a snatch of it on the radio and recorded a piece of it a year after that. For many years I simply heard that small piece that I recorded on my tape until I finally found a 'Best of Ghazals in Movies' tape which had 'Seene Mein Jalan'. Ahh, I bought and lost that tape an bought it again. Now I have more than one of this song - on tape, on CD, on ipod and enjoy it just as much as I did the first time.

4) Yaara O Yaara: For several years at the OU Engineering College, my friend Ali Mumtaz sang this song and sang it beautifully - in the canteen, on drives, on walks, in dark hostel rooms late at night and I tried to pick up whatever words I could from him. I sang this song, my version with all kinds of mixed up words until I saw the movie Benaam many years later on video and figured the song from there. A few  days earlier I searched the net and found this song and now I play it over and over again in the car.

5) Summer Wine: In our second year at Osmania University Engineering College I heard this pretty girl, Gita Mani, sing a song called 'Summer Wine' so beautifully that I was completely mesmerised by it. I'd never heard such a melodious English number before! As seniors we would corner the juniors and the sporty juniors always obliged with a display of their talents and my heart always lifted up when I saw Gita Mani because she really sang this song well. I think she thought I would catch her and make her sing this song because I had other motives but I was really in love with the song and loved hear her sing it in her clear, high voice of hers. Oh it was beautiful. Many years later, I found a tape of duets by western singers and it had this song sung by Nancy Sinatra and someone else. And everytime I hear this song I want to hear it more. But I think Gita Mani sang it best.

6) Mamiah Kero Kero: This song in 'Arjun' was an anthem for us in those days. We loved the movie, were young, were a bit of a young like Sunny Deol's and we loved this song. Thankfully Ali knew the words and he would sing it for us whenever we wanted. So fond of this song were we that we actually entered in a couple of group singing competitions in our final year and chorused along with Ali. The other day i got a CD which had Mamiah Kero Kero and I never tire of hearing it again.

7) Words: Sometime when I was in my 7th class or so I heard this song 'Words' on Yuva Vani program on the radio. That song latched on to my mind like none other and I searched for it high and low. When I was in Mumbai I would haunt those little bylanes near VT where the hawkers sold old tapes searching for this song sung by God knows who. I searched all the old women singers - from Olivia to Helen Reddy to Linda Ronstadt and finally gave up. Until I got a Beegees Greatest tape and found that they sang the first version of 'Words' in 1998. Since then both the BeeGees and the Boy Zone versions remain close to me.

8) Man Who Sold The World: I heard this first on television, maybe on MTV in 1995. For many days I heard MTV trying to get this song until I finally did. But unfortunately I could not get the song and the album until a few more tries. When i found that Nirvana had sung this song in its Unplugged version I instantly got myself a tape and still have it. It is one of my all time favourites till date and my pleasure at getting this song was immense.

9) I'd die Without You: A rare song, one of the most romantic I heard ever, sung by P.M.Dawn, a group I never heard of after this, in 1995 or sometime around. The song was played on MTV and I spent hours trying to get it because it was not easy to get this song until I found one day in the titles that it is from the Boomerang soundtrack. Ahhh! Bliss. I raced off and got myself a Boomerang tape which I still possess and listen to this song. One of the best slow songs I have heard.

10) I Can See Clearly Now: This Jimmy Cliff song haunted me from 1991 when I watched Cool Runnings on video at Pune. I never got to watch it again until I saw the movie on television recently but even then I could not get the name of the song. But the song stuck in my mind clearly as if I had heard it many times. And when one day I searched the net for Cool Runnings I found this song and instantly got my hands on it. Now it plays constantly in the car, reminding me of happy, sunny days ahead.

I think this list would have some more interesting stories which I will add as I remember them. Currently I am hoping to get my hands on the Wardat theme song - Gunmaster G9 and the Saajan theme song which is again one of the most romantic pieces I have heard..