Songs For My Daughter

I have spoken before about how my daughter loves me to sing for her. But her love has grown to singing herself. She sings along with me, sings along with the radio, and she sings on her own. A lot. In fact, her pre-school teacher has tactfully suggested that I sign her up for singing classes because she sings all the time during class.Now that she is more involved with the music, she has begun to listen deeply to the words and make up stories behind these words. What is so precious about this is how deeply these stories reflect her more than the songwriter.The other night, I was singing "You've Got a Friend" and she starts crying. I am flabbergasted."What's wrong, baby?""That girl misses her Mommy.""What girl, baby?""The girl in the song."She had created an entire story where a little girl had gotten lost and her Mommy was telling her that she would find her wherever she was. Broke my heart.She has also begun to like the Kidz Bop music (I know, Lord help me now!). At the library, we found an older one that includes the Avril Lavigne song, "Complicated". She has decided that this is a song of a Mom admonishing her daughter for not being herself. Can't argue much with that.Finally, another favorite of hers is when I sing "Just the Way You Are". She calls it the song where I love her just the way she is. Which of course is true.In all the songs, any romantic complications or other innuendos have been lost. She has made herself the star but I am a chief player. And I love this role. I am a protector or an encourager, most of all I am a lover of all things her.In the days to come, we will probably fight over the music she chooses and she will be bored by both the sappy ballads I sang her and the Pearl Jam songs with which I chose to rock out. The innuendo will be found and she will understand more than I wish. But for now music is not a divider but a uniter and I am loving every minute of it.So now when I hear a song I have heard WAY too many times, I listen anew. I am eager to hear it through my daughter's ears and learn the story that she hears. It is almost as if the songs are written just for her. Maybe in some way they are.