Songs that connects you to 11/22/63

[PrisonerNumber6]

It just occurred to me,this song by Don Henley sums up the themes of the novel (as well as Hearts in Atlantis) as much as anything.

[Lily Sawyer]

I guess I'm a bit of a purist.
I think of songs from 1961, songs like "Calendar Girl" (referencing Jake/George and Sadie's drawn-out romance over many months), "Hit the Road Jack" (when Jake feels he needs to git before he's discovered).....and because it also cross-references another King work in the same era, "Stand By Me"...

Neil Sedaka: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V03f74P4_o
Ray Charles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rEsVp5tiDQ
Ben E. King: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA53T_DT4kk

[GGliorF]

Hey So I'm in the army and right about the time Sadie and Jake broke up and he moved from Jodie I had to stop reading for a few days because it was 'that time of the month army style', which meant I had to guard the base and had almost no free time. But while I was doing that I listened to my iPod a lot and the song "better in the long run" by Miranda Lambert just made me see the book in my head. It was like it was written about Jake and Sadie! How they loved each other but

Show Spoiler

had to break up because it was better in the long run.

[RichardX]

"Family Snapshot" by Peter Gabriel is the best (in my opinion) song about the assassination itself. It's based in part on the JFK assassination and the George Wallace shooting ("Diary of an Assassin"). The unnerving part is that it's written from the perspective of Oswald/assassin and makes him more a pathetic rather than evil character. Tracing the assassination to neglect and a simple desire for attention as a child. Oswald's own father died before he was born. He moved around a lot. Had dyslexia at a time when that was rarely acknowledged or treated in school. No close friends or relatives. Spent most of his childhood to himself.

[CorradoMilano63]

I have just finished reading this beautiful love story. There's one and only song that I started hearing in my mind towards the end of the book and that will remain forever entwined with my memories of Jake and Sadie. The Everly Brothers' "So Sad" which was released in 1960, is achingly wistful and in its own bittersweet way, heartbreaking. The lyrics seem all the more fulfilling if you remember the beginning of the book: "I have never been what you'd call a crying man".
Phil and Don sing: "We used to have good times together, but now I feel them slip away, it makes me cry to see love die, so sad to watch good love go bad. Remember how you used to feel dear, you said nothing could change your mind, It breaks my heart to see us part, so sad to watch good love go bad
Is it any wonder that I feel so blue blue, when I know for certain that I'm losing you. Remember how you used to feel, dear, you said nothing could change your mind, it breaks my heart to see us part, so sad to watch good love go bad, so sad to watch good love go bad…"

[muskrat]

"I met a gin-soaked, bar room queen in Memphis,
She tried to take me upstairs for a ride
She had to heave me right across her shoulders
Cause I just can't seem to drink you off my mind..."

That one got Jake/George in a lot of trouble, if I recall correctly.

[The Nameless]

I have 3 songs that remind me of the book, they're all pretty meaningless though.

1, Nice to be Out by The Stereophonics - simply because of 1 line: "Dallas to the library, the place they ended Kennedy, I stood where Oswald took his shot, in my opinion there's a bigger plot"

2, Sympathy for the Devil by the Rolling Stones - again, no real reason that it resonates for me other than the fact that Jake gets into trouble for singing a Stones song that is not out yet - even though it was not Sympathy for the Devil, that song is just my favourite Stones song, and as soon as I hear the words Rolling Stones, or read them, that is the 1st song in my head.

3, Mr. Sandman by the Chordettes - this is the only one that I think has any kind of real connection, but even this one is not relevant to the story. I just think no song ever made screams "YOU'RE IN 1950'S AMERICA" more than that one. The image of Jake emerging in 1958 for the 1st time is a vivid one in my mind, and for a scene in the movie, I can see him emerging from the dark pantry into a bright late summer day, Jake, looking confused meets the yellow card man, after his chat with him, he walks across to the Kennebec where a near by classic car has Mr Sandman on the radio - maybe the 1st appearance of the White over Red Plymouth Fury, movie scenes are always slightly different. Because Jake does a few resets, the song could be like a theme for the film.