I wrote a song in my early 20s called “Mother, Games and School.” It was about wishing to be able to go back to days where the only concerns were family, friends, and school. The song’s bridge is all about building tension with my future self — and within my present self — and asking whether I’d ultimately embark on the great adventure of life, or just pine for everything to stay the same. Unchanged.
At the time, I had just graduated college and I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. It was the summer after graduation and I hadn’t even considered looking for a job. And I definitely didn’t want to become an adult. “Mother, Games and School” was born out of listlessness and frustration. But also, sweet sweet nostalgia for my youth — which was over.
Twenty years later, I now realize what nostalgia ultimately is; it’s a yearning for something we once had. Something we experienced that we can’t anymore (for whatever reason). Nostalgia is recognizing who we once were, and what we once had. And honoring that memory. All while knowing it can never come again.
Nostalgia is about realizing that we have changed.
We are no longer who we once were.
The Chameleons — “Nostalgia”