As the pandemic continues to strike the United States in many states, Governors are now making some of them open for business operations. Some of the polls suggest that many Americans believe the state governments are opening too soon, which could make the transmission of Covid-19 easier since it would be hard to abide by the social distancing rules inside certain businesses. We are closing in on approximately 70,000 lives that are no longer her due to the spread of the pandemic. Everyone has been affected by it: students, employees, employers, families and other entities. I just learned that one of my friends lost a friend that he’d know for many years. I think many people know someone who has been affected by the disease or likely will in the future. I have faith in the healthcare system and believe that one day Covid-19 will be contained and probably managed in much the same way as Flu shots are given out today.
Sometimes I stay up late and think about how this pandemic has affected my life. I have not seen much of my family over the past month or so deliberately because we are trying to keep a safe distance from each other as a preventive measure. I’m sure families across the country are doing the same thing.
In order to prevent myself from feeling down, I listen to music and try to find songs that can correspond with how I feel regarding Covid-19 or anything else that I may be thinking at the time.
Selena’s ‘Dreaming of You’ is one song that matches perfectly with how I feel. The song is about a romantic relationship, but when I listen to it in the context of what is taking place socially, politically and economicly in our country it takes on a new meaning. In the song she is singing about the prospect of someone that she loves will one day show her the same love in return. I’ve always appreciated this song for the story it tells and the journey it takes listeners on. However, it resonates with me a little bit differently today because I love my family, and I know they love me (we tell each all the time). Unfortunately, within the context of Covid-19 it is very difficult to express that love when people have to be isolated from each other in order to improve public health.
‘Dreaming of You’ was a cross-over hit that was released in 1995. The artist unfortunately lost her life prior to its release. Before creating this song, she was already established as a Tejano superstar. ‘Dreaming of You’ and a number of other tracks from her fifth album were meant to connect to a broader audience through pop and r&b music.
The song was written by Franne Golde and Tom Snow. The lyrics are perfect; it has a beginning, middle and end that are connected-they created a framework in which to display the song’s emotional and ballad-like quality.
Selena delivers beautiful vocals throughout the song; she knew the parts that required sensitivity as well as those that needed to be accented with powerful notes.
The instrumentation is very pop sounding with its emphasis on piano and drum machine. There are other live elements within the song, but they are there to build a musical platform to showcase Selena’s incredible voice.
I think everybody experiences the story that takes place within the song. I think it also provides wonderful escapism to music listeners who are socially conscious of the affects the pandemic.