My Peace Corps Soundtrack (Vol. 1)
Seón Tromble, 137 TESS
Hi, my name is Seón.
For those of you wondering how to pronounce my name, don’t worry– you’re not the only one. It’s just Sean with a little extra flair. And if you’re wondering why it’s like that… well, I’ll tell you the same thing I told my counterparts the first time I met them:
Ask my parents.
But today, my friends, is not about my name. No…
Let’s talk music.
You know how there are some songs you hear that conjure up vivid, visceral memories? Those are called music-evoked autobiographical memories (MEAMs). As it turns out, studies suggest that memories triggered by music are actually more vivid than memories triggered by other stimuli. That’s right – ya boy did his research. Check the sources.¹
For me, “Talk” by Coldplay hits like a gut punch. Within the first notes, my heart skips a beat as I’m overcome by a wave of nostalgia and longing. Suddenly, I’m a kid again. I can see my father cooking in my childhood kitchen, with its bright overhead light and wooden cabinets. I can smell the taco meat cooking in the pan. I can feel the lazy, waning summer breeze drifting in the open window. It’s a deeply emotional, sensory experience for me.
Using this feeling as a guide, I wanted to create a playlist of music that I could come back to in five, 10, 20 years from now and mentally return to my Peace Corps service when I was listening to those songs.
And so “My Peace Corps Soundtrack” was born. I’m making a playlist of all the biggest songs from my time in the Peace Corps in the hopes that someday down the line, I can listen to them and be transported back in time. Just like with “Talk.”
What I’d like to do in this series of articles is to dive into my soundtrack while simultaneously giving you a snapshot of my life as a volunteer. In each article, I’ll choose a song from the soundtrack and talk about the context of what was going on in my life as a volunteer during the time that I associate with the song.
Without further ado…
Vol. 1 : Cannock Chase by Labi Siffre
I discovered “Cannock Chase” during my pre-service training (PST), and I think it reflects the vibe of PST perfectly.
Before I explain why, let me give you a picture of PST.
During PST, Trainees (not yet volunteers) are assigned to live with Thai host families all over the training town. Every weekday from 8 AM to 4:30 PM, we learn about Thai language and culture as well as specific job-related technical skills. After class and on weekends, we’re turned over to our host families to visit temples and festivals, cook, clean, and integrate further into the community. Peace Corps Thailand also provides us with bicycles that we spend lots of time riding– for recreation, travelling between classes, and visiting one another’s homes.
So why does “Cannock Chase” hold a special place in my mind as the sound of PST?
First and foremost, Cannock Chase sounds like a traveling song, and PST is nothing if not a journey. Right from the jump, the ambling guitar line just sounds like a bike ride down a rural road between rice fields. Sabai sabai is the name of the game in Thailand, and this song just oozes that relaxed, chilled-out vibe.
I particularly love the line in the first verse:
“There’s a bird in a tree singing a song just for me.”
This one is a bit on the nose, but buddy, let me tell ya– the birds here? Something else. I have stopped mid-bike ride just to listen to birds singing in a tree. I still have the most vivid memory of a black bird flying across the road with this incredible slash of electric blue running along the underside of its wings.
Was I listening to the song when I saw that blue-striped bird? Maybe, maybe not. Did I listen to it that day? Almost certainly. Does that line still make me think of those birds? Absolutely.
So yeah, that line speaks to me.
Yet underneath all of that laid-back energy, the song is also a little silly, a little agitated, and a little bewildered– all of which, frankly, can be used to describe your average trainee.
I mean, come on…
“Well, I don’t know just where I am.”
Again, maybe a bit on the nose. But it’s all in Mr. Siffre’s tone when he delivers that line. He doesn’t sound panicked or afraid, as the words may suggest. Rather, it’s in his usual, unbothered, singsong voice. And I think that’s one of the biggest adaptations a trainee makes during PST. Even though we may occasionally find ourselves a bit in over our heads, we find a way to feel comfortable in the discomfort– to just keep plodding along because, in the words of Mr. Siffre:
“But I’ll find out.”
It’s got a sort of steady determination to it that says “this might be rough, but I’m just going to keep pedaling” while maintaining this air of carefree lightness and fun.
“I thought my day would never come. Maybe it won’t, but I’ll have fun. And I’ll hold tight, ‘cause that way it might.”
I think that’s kind of a great way to sum up the PST mindset. Because sure, there are tough times. But wake up and smell the roses, man! At the end of the day you’re in a beautiful place, surrounded by beautiful people and delicious food. In the morning, when you roll out of bed, you can’t be sure what the day is going to bring, and that’s exciting!
I’ll level with you. Some days are going to be a bust, and that’s rough. But that’s okay because you’re going to get good days too. You just have to take both in stride.
Like I said at the beginning. Cannock Chase is traveling music, and PST is nothing if not a journey. Complete with all the highs and lows and yada yada, you get it. Therein lies the essence of PST as reflected in Cannock Chase.
¹Amy M. Belfi, Elena Bai, Ava Stroud, Raelynn Twohy, Janelle N. Beadle, Investigating the role of involuntary retrieval in music-evoked autobiographical memories, Consciousness and Cognition, Volume 100, 2022, 103305, ISSN 1053-8100, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2022.103305.