I had the pleasure of seeing Myles Kennedy perform with Slash and The Conspirators during which the band played songs from their new album 4. I love Kennedy's soulful voice and some mornings his songs pop into my head before my feet hit the bedroom floor.
I read an interview where Kennedy talked about the impact his biological father's death had on his family when he was a young child, and how this has influenced his music. The interview discussed Kennedy's first solo album Year of the Tiger (released in 2018) and the significance of the title-track.
Here's the story: The song "Year of the Tiger"started out as a melody with just a few lyrics that Kennedy says was left sitting around for a long time. Then one day he was doing chores around the house and the words 'the year of the tiger' just came to him. He didn't even know what the phrase meant, but he liked the sound of it.
When he started pulling the album together, he decided to research the term, which stems from the Chinese zodiac. Chinese mythology dictates that each calendar year is related to a specific animal and the cycle of the animal repeats every 12 years. Some of the years of the tiger are 2022, 2010, 1998, 1986, 1974, 1962...and so on.
Here's what's spooky: Myles Kennedy's father passed away during the year of the tiger. And to quote Kennedy, "It was almost like the universe was telling me, 'This is what you are going to write about with this.'" This whisper from the universe helped him shape the theme of the album.
I agree with Kennedy that the universe was speaking to him, but it's my belief that his father was also guiding him. Having lost my mother to cancer a few years ago, I know when my mom is influencing what's going on in my life. For example, a store clerk may use a unique phrase that my mother used to utter and this helps me resolve an issue that I've been noodling. Or, I'll be lost when driving and then I'll see a street sign with a word that I associate with my mother, and taking this street will lead me to the highway I was trying to find.
Start paying attention to the signs around you and the significance they hold because this is the universe's (and perhaps a deceased loved-one's) way of trying to point you in the right direction.
And how fortunate we are that Myles Kennedy understands the importance of listening to the universe's whispers.
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