It is a special kind of torture when you are at a point in your life when you must tell yourself to “let it go” repeatedly and there is a catchy, uber popular Disney song by the same name playing everywhere. Torture.
I have never heard the entire tune, have not seen the movie but I am tormented by the refrain. Maybe if I see the movie I will finally release myself from its musical grasp, but I am having trouble confronting my fear.
I try to tell myself to “let it be” or “don’t worry, be happy” or even “shut up” but I fail and the song worms into my brain. It is ironic that a tune about letting go, won’t let go of my inner music channel. Torture.
I wish I were one of those people that could put something behind them and move on quickly. Me, I mostly do but there is always this remnant that swirls about until one day it miraculously evaporates and fades from memory as if it had never been a thing at all. If only that could happen sooner and on command I would be a bit more at peace.
Side note: this process is true of everything but my resentment for my mother and her pet killing/giving away tendencies. No matter what I try, I have never been able to fully let that go as evidenced by a recent unexpected outburst. I probably need to let go of the notion that I can let that go.
Right now the swirling is about a friend, also an ex-boyfriend, who sometimes is a total inconsiderate tool. I am annoyed. What I am annoyed about is not worth putting down on paper yet thinking about it makes my jaw clench, my eyes squint and my stomach floppy…and my head full of profanity. I am torn between my desire to write a long detailed explanation of my anger to him and the resolve that it would not matter or change anything. It never has.
I remind myself that people make time for what they care about and what their priorities are not for my expectations and the only thing I can control is my response. I tell myself to accept people as they are, not how I wish they would be. I ask myself if this will even matter in a year, a month or a few weeks. I reluctantly admit that I have not mastered the force and I do not control the Universe even though I really should because things would suck so much less for us all, well maybe not people I get annoyed with.
Ultimately, I tell myself to let it go and then suffer through that damn song swirling in my head along with the various remnant thoughts that just won’t give me a break. Torture.
sugar TANTRUM 
Ok, I know I’ve done my share of tormenting you with earworms over the years, and although it was tempting to write a quick snarky response involving “the lower than normal temperatures not altering your mood negatively anwyay” I’m going to play healer here, if you’ll humour me. You see, I have the cure for nearly any earworm thrown at me. It literally has not failed me once. Full disclosure: I suppose it is necessary for you *not* to hate the song which serves as the cure for all earworm displeasure, although I suspect that if this song doesn’t work for you, it is simply a matter of finding *your* musical center-point voodoo anthem to bring clarity to your brain.
The earworm cure that has so far not let me down, even in the case of that Frigid Go Letting Tune…
is “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell.
The rules: you can’t just start singing it from the chorus or the bridge… you need to start right at the first measure with the first notes of the bass line into the first lyrics… and then ride that sweet train as far as you need. Sometimes you may need to go all the way through the Extended 12″ version complete with “Baby, Where Did Our Love Go” mash-up outro others it may only require a verse & chorus with frequent smaller doses of humming the bass line & melody throughout the day. It works when being hummed, or sung softly under one’s breath, or repeated like a mantra in one’s head, but also works exceptionally well being belted out while driving along in the car.
This tune’s powers don’t stop at beating earworms. The lyrics serve as quite a cathartic Swiss Army Knife (or, if you like, Leatherman Multi-tool): adapting their meaning to whatever seems to be causing me momentary grief above and beyond any infecting earworm’s specifics. The driver in front of me that won’t shorten up the distance between their front bumper and that of the car just ahead of her to something less than 2 car lengths and therefore preventing me from entering the turning lane to proceed on my merry way and really very nearly making me want to just nudge her along to close up that gap I mean she’s only driving an Accord my car could move that thing easy–“Sometimes I feel I need to *dunn dunn* run away….” The crazy customer I need to deal with that sends follow up messages every 2 hours even though I clearly defined that I would get back to them with an answer tomorrow: “Don’t. Touch. Me. Please. I cannot stand the way you… teeeeaaase.” [Note: I just mentally switch the act of one teasing with something apropos like “repeatedly emailing me annoying status requests” because that’s really not that great of a lyric, is it?]
I urge you to give it a try next time you are in need. I give you all a boy can give you. Well, not really, or even close… but if this works for you, I’m guessing you’ll be satisfied.
❤
DP
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And now that song is in me head…and luckily I do like it.
I am not sure what is is about me and earworms but sometimes they are relenting. I am usually able to use”Immigrant Song” by Led Zep to obliterate any tune that gets stuck but then I hear the phrase “Let it Go” and the damn thing is back.
I am also being tormented by songs with the work “Super” in them now that we have the superbowl coming here. I should get pretty sick of “Super Freak” in the next 4 years.
Thanks for the tip. I will change up my earworm bleach and see if it can wipe that tune out for good.
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