Song Stories: Pine Knob
Dear Music Fans —
Songs become a part of the story of our lives. Their lyrics linger inside of us. We recall those words, but what we remember isn’t what they meant to the person who wrote them. It’s what they mean to us.
We relate their lyrics back to the events that have happened in our lives. We interject our personal narrative into their songs, and it feels as though they mirror our own memories and emotions.
Some songs make us happy, while others bring sadness. Some songs connect with our present, and others bring us back to the past. They help us recall memories we’ve forgotten.
Some songs are tied to our personal identities and to particular moments in our lives. Playing the song in later years helps us to recall an earlier event as well as the way we felt about it. This is what music does for us. It connects with the story of our lives. It creates meaning. It helps us understand ourselves.
We build a history of music throughout our lives that is unique to us, shaped by our tastes and life experiences. For many of us, it is the closest thing we have to the journal we never wrote or the diary that has long been packed away.
The soundtrack of our lives is an ongoing playlist that we add to with each new experience. Each song holds a different significance, one that evolves as we change and grow as individuals.
Unlike old journals and diaries, this soundtrack does not collect dust on a nightstand or in the bottom of a box but is stored on a smartphone that we take everywhere and hold tightly in our hands.
The time had come to collect and share these stories to create a people’s history of music.
This alternate history, composed of shared song stories, will deepen your understanding of music.
It’ll extend your interpretation of a song beyond what it means to you to how the song has been experienced by another and the meaning it has created in his or her life. Reading each story and playing the song will allow you to hear what music sounds like through ears other than your own.
I hope reading these essays and memories will inspire you to share your own song story.
–Kyle Bylin
Submission Standards
Song Stories is an newsletter that celebrates the power of music through personal, fan-authored essays. We are currently accepting submissions for essays to be featured on songstories.com and considered for inclusion in the next Song Stories book.
What we’re looking for:
Original essays between 650–850 words
A focus on one specific song that has impacted or changed your life. Writing that is personal, reflective, and authentic—we want your real story, your memories, and your voice.
What happens to your essay:
Every submission will be considered for the next Song Stories collection, a book featuring essays by fans about the bands and songs they love
Until the book is published, accepted stories will be featured on songstories.com, a public newsletter where anyone can read, share, and subscribe.
Call to Action
If a song has ever carved its way into your life and left you changed, this is your chance to tell the world why. Share your story, add your voice to the chorus, and help build a book of music and memory written not by critics or scholars, but by the fans who lived it.
Submit your essay to kyle.bylin@gmail.com.
I’d love to hear your story!