What Do You Remember?

You may not know it, but a lifetime of memories may be stuck in your cells.

I’ve written dozens songs in which severe weather or dramatic accidents play proxy for the significant, unexpected and overwhelming experiences in our lives.

“Natural Disaster” (from 1994’s Bloom) is about a rock slide that buries a town. “California” (from 2002’s Almost Home) features an earthquake. In “What’s Left Behind” (from 2019’s album of the same name), the protagonist emerges from the ruins of her tornado-ravaged home.

“I Remember Everything,” the penultimate track on my new album, Constellations, began as a disaster song as well, but evolved into something noticeably different, deeply instructive and profoundly transformative.

On this week’s podcast, I explore how the song helped me understand the biology, psychology and neurology of somatic memory, and how the body keeps the score.

It may help you understand as well.

Please listen to the Friends & Neighbors podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you find podcasts now.

And if you haven’t chipped in to support the post-production of Wagner Brothers’ forthcoming Friends & Neighbors documentary, we’re at just 11% of our crowdfunding goal and will really appreciate you help. Please click here to support Friends & Neighbors.