Writing Family Stories? Let Music Be Your Guide!

Joanne Mason
Apr 9
1 min read

A father and young daughter at the beach in the 1970s. The father is wearing sunglasses, a blue sweatshirt and blue and red plaid bathing suit. He is holding a fish. The girl is about three years old, wearing a white sleeveless dress. There are boats in the ocean behind them. — Dad and me at the beach in Westbrook, Connecticut.

Often, people feel overwhelmed at the thought of writing a family history. How much time should they cover? How much detail do they need? And where should they even start?

I sometimes suggest musical snippets to get the stories flowing. Music can be a powerful way to evoke memories and details that might get overlooked when you’re writing a linear narrative.

One example for me is “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” the 1969 hit by B.J. Thomas. With just a few notes, I’m transported back to a beach in Connecticut, singing this song with my Dad—except he made up his own lyrics:

Raindrops keep fallin’ on our dog.
Raindrops keep fallin’ on my sandwich.
Raindrops keep fallin’ on Richard Nixon.

We took turns making up lyrics, the zanier the better. And while the story shows a heartwarming moment between father and daughter, it also shows that my Dad had a goofy sense of humor, one to be appreciated.

Which songs evoke memories for you?

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