Cats, Copy and Copacabana: Why Poetry is Memorable Manna

“Music is what memories sound like”.

That’s what a wedding DJ said to my fiancé, David, and me last week, right before we booked him to be our wedding DJ.  Those words sealed the deal.

I’d been thinking about music and memories.  Not just because of the wedding, but because of a silly set of song lyrics I’d recently cobbled together for our two cats, Harry and Bobby (shown above, asleep on their own chaise longue).

The story goes like this: every now and again, and for some unexplained reason (you never quite know where these things originate from, do you?), we’d taken to serenading the cats with the opening line from Barry Manilow’s classic 1978 tune, Copacabana.

“His name is Harry, and…”

And there we’d always leave it.  We might hum the next few bars, but we never quite knew what other words to put in.

The mad unfinished-ness of it all drove me crazy.  So I made up some more lyrics, and I texted them over to David:

(You’re right.  I probably do have too much time on my hands).

(Though can you honestly resist singing along, even if only in your head?)

(I didn’t think so!)

We now sing the full version around our house with gusto.  Harry and Bobby themselves are thoroughly disdainful, as any cat-person will already have guessed.

But what I hadn’t appreciated was that, in putting those silly lyrics together, we now have a poem that will always remind us of them.

Poetry set to music

Music is what memories sound like.  And lyrics – or, poetry that we sing – are part of the reason.

By the same token, poetry is a great way to help other people remember you… or someone you love.

Whether you set them to music or not, rhymes stick.  Doctors have used them to help colleagues remember crucial medical guidelines, iconic writers like Dr. Seuss mastered them, and advertisers have been using them for donkey’s years.

(Beanz Meanz Heinz, anyone?)

You can use them, too.

You don’t have to get overly traditional about it, either.  Poetry can work wonderfully well in unexpected places.

One of my favourite ever projects involved writing an ‘introduction’ poem for an independent mortgage advisor to use at networking events.

I’ve often used a few lines of poetry to pep up my ‘out of office’ auto-replies… a criminally under-rated way to make yourself memorable.

And the most unforgettable wedding ‘speech’ I’ve ever heard was a father performing a beautiful song he’d written for his daughter, the bride.

(Note: I will not be asking my Dad to sing at my wedding).

Need help coming up with a memorable rhyme? All I need is a slice of your time!