Early in our travels, Jenna and I developed a theory called "follow the music." This simple plan was based on the idea that anytime we were in a public place and heard music (not just a crazy person humming to themselves), we should follow that music and see what was going on.
The first time we tested this theory was in Brussels. We were in a big public park with tall hedge-rows and heard something through one of them. We ducked through a small opening and were surprised to see a small stage-area with 15 or so people singing to a group of about 70.
We were delighted by the songs even if we didn't understand a single word of any of them, and when the group onstage started inviting audience members up to sing with them it became a real treat. The size of the choir doubled and everyone sang along as if they had all been part of this choir as kids.
Thankfully we weren't invited up to sing.
Anyway, it was a fun experience and gave us the lesson: If we hear people singing or playing music, we should at least check it out (AKA follow the music).
Fast forward to Ireland. We stayed in an AirBnB listed to a guy named Johnny and his partner. Johnny later referred to us as "a blessed couple" in his review although he never actually spoke to us for more than 10 seconds so I can't figure out how he would've known that. Near their place was a supermarket where we popped in for dinner one night.
It was a big semi-urban shopping area: The store-fronts were part of a pedestrian-only area and people could park their cars underneath. Kids played in the grass of this area, surrounding by modern-looking stores, restaurants, and bars.
We took our food out into the grassy area and just relaxed for a bit while we ate. Kids played tag, jumped around like monkeys, and did whatever else it is that kids do.
At some point we realized they were singing. Here's what they were singing.
So many questions. 1) Why did these 6-8 year old kids know Calvin Harris? He's mainly a dance-club kind of guy, as shown by the video above ending with him performing in a club. 2) This song was more than 18 months old by the time we saw these kids singing it. Why were they singing something that hadn't been "hot" for some time? 3) Did all of the kid agree that this was the song they would sing? 4) Was this an organized event? 5) Was this song part of the game they were playing? They were unquestionably singing it as they ran from place to place, and related to that 6) Did this somehow replace the "get off my father's apple tree" part of playing tag on a playground? If yes, then 7) WHAT?!
This happened more than 18 months ago and I still think about it at least once a week. I can't figure it out. Why this song? Why that place? Did those kids know each other? Is this an Ellie Goulding based cult? She's English, but that's a far cry from being Irish, so it's not as if she has expanded popularity in Dublin as a local (the word "Dublin" doesn't even appear on her Wikipedia page).
This wasn't exactly an example of us following the music, rather, the music largely came to us. Even so, it kept the travel theory alive. It was memorable, it was fun, and it was just kind of weird. That's what any good travel memory should be.
Thanks, little Irish kids.
The first time we tested this theory was in Brussels. We were in a big public park with tall hedge-rows and heard something through one of them. We ducked through a small opening and were surprised to see a small stage-area with 15 or so people singing to a group of about 70.
We were delighted by the songs even if we didn't understand a single word of any of them, and when the group onstage started inviting audience members up to sing with them it became a real treat. The size of the choir doubled and everyone sang along as if they had all been part of this choir as kids.
Thankfully we weren't invited up to sing.
Anyway, it was a fun experience and gave us the lesson: If we hear people singing or playing music, we should at least check it out (AKA follow the music).
Fast forward to Ireland. We stayed in an AirBnB listed to a guy named Johnny and his partner. Johnny later referred to us as "a blessed couple" in his review although he never actually spoke to us for more than 10 seconds so I can't figure out how he would've known that. Near their place was a supermarket where we popped in for dinner one night.
It was a big semi-urban shopping area: The store-fronts were part of a pedestrian-only area and people could park their cars underneath. Kids played in the grass of this area, surrounding by modern-looking stores, restaurants, and bars.
We took our food out into the grassy area and just relaxed for a bit while we ate. Kids played tag, jumped around like monkeys, and did whatever else it is that kids do.
At some point we realized they were singing. Here's what they were singing.
So many questions. 1) Why did these 6-8 year old kids know Calvin Harris? He's mainly a dance-club kind of guy, as shown by the video above ending with him performing in a club. 2) This song was more than 18 months old by the time we saw these kids singing it. Why were they singing something that hadn't been "hot" for some time? 3) Did all of the kid agree that this was the song they would sing? 4) Was this an organized event? 5) Was this song part of the game they were playing? They were unquestionably singing it as they ran from place to place, and related to that 6) Did this somehow replace the "get off my father's apple tree" part of playing tag on a playground? If yes, then 7) WHAT?!
This happened more than 18 months ago and I still think about it at least once a week. I can't figure it out. Why this song? Why that place? Did those kids know each other? Is this an Ellie Goulding based cult? She's English, but that's a far cry from being Irish, so it's not as if she has expanded popularity in Dublin as a local (the word "Dublin" doesn't even appear on her Wikipedia page).
This wasn't exactly an example of us following the music, rather, the music largely came to us. Even so, it kept the travel theory alive. It was memorable, it was fun, and it was just kind of weird. That's what any good travel memory should be.
Thanks, little Irish kids.
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