Dreams do come through...
I’m seriously going to start writing more in this English weblog! I know I’ve said this before but this time I really mean it.
I’m eagerly awaiting going to a concert which will put the finishing touch on my long-time dream.
When I was a kid living in Tehran I was lucky enough to have a family who is very fond of music. This is particularly valuable when you are living in a country with all sorts of restrictions on art and specifically music. My dad of course was always into classic stuff; my sister was a fan of pop music and even now I can sing to the tunes of the 80s and 90s just because of her. But the most influential was my brother and his best friend called Amir. Amir was a keyboard and guitar player and with Nader, my brother, they introduced me to a whole new sound of music which changed my life forever.
I remember one night when I was 12 or 13 and Nader came home late. I was still up, reading long historical novels as usual. He took me to the living room and said I’m going to let you hear the best music ever. And there it was. The dreamy voice of David Gilmour singing “…there is no pain, you’re only receding…”
I didn’t know any English back then but was hooked forever! When my parents saw my interest in the music and the sincere attention I was paying to the speakers trying to work out what my favorite music was all about, they decided it was time for me to learn some English! The semi-private class was too easy for my enthusiastic mind and as it became easier to dissect words in the songs I started trying to figure out the lyrics as there were no other ways available to do so at those times; no internet like now and that kind of music was forbidden so no source of information outside.
Amir and Nader provided me with the tapes and I worked on the lyrics profusely! I was amazed at the beauty of their words and with help from others I learnt them all by heart! As time went by I had become quite fluent in spoken and written English and it became my major at university to the point of studying Masters of English Pedagogy and teaching it at the university! I didn’t learn English the traditional way, rather acquired it through absorbing what I think of as literature rather than mere lyrics of a rock band! Pink Floyd taught me English and educated me, I think they were pretty good teachers, don’t you?
It doesn’t end there; they not only influenced my career but also my way of thinking, my social life and even love life! As blogging wave hit Iran I was moved as well to start my own weblog. I had already had my Yahoo ID as Pinkfloydish and now my weblog was named the same. At first a lot of people would ask “what kind of a name is Pinkfloydish?” “What does it mean?” So during the last 4, 5 years many new people have heard of this great band and I have also found people who share the same interest and bonded with many of them.
My husband and I also started our relationship with an email from him to Pinkfloydish. Back then he didn’t even know my real name! Then he came to Iran for a visit and brought me Pink Floyd CDs as gift :) Now we’ve been married for 3 years and I’ve moved to the US. Since the first time I heard them on the stereo I wanted to go to their concert and I always thought to myself what an unlucky person I am to be born in a country where it is impossible to ever see these guys; then I learnt English and then I became successful and then I started my weblog and then I got married to an American citizen and came here to go to David Gilmour’s concert April 19 and Roger Waters’ concert October 6 2006. It’s as if they were the ones who brought me here to see them.
Seeing David Gilmour was a surreal experience, especially when he and Rick Wright sang Echoes and I was crying with joy all through it. And now it’s going to be Roger Waters… I cannot wait to see the man that has given me words to shape my life.
