Songs as Sanctuary: Kristen Allen on Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”

Last updated on: September 13, 2017 at 8:43 am by Jessica Mesman Griffith

Songs as Sanctuary: Kristen Allen on Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” 2017-09-13T08:43:50-05:00 Jessica Mesman Griffith

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Good times never felt so good.

I love music. I love all kinds of music. My mind uses music like a label on a file folder. Like so many of you, different songs or artists or sometimes genres will help me recall a specific person, event, or period of my life. The Beach Boys will never fail to remind me of my late father, and “Walking on Sunshine” always transports me to a morning at summer camp, right after I got a letter from the boy I was deeply smitten with.

I love baseball almost as much as I love music, and I love the way music is such an integral part of the game. A regular topic of conversation in our house is what music to play when you get called up from the bullpen. I taught my daughter to play the traditional organ cheer “Charge!” and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” when she was little. Most of all, though, I’m a sucker for the patriotic songs.
Every game begins with the national anthem. Whether a high school marching band plays it or a children’s choir sings it or a musical celebrity performs it, it always makes me tear up. I don’t consider myself a flag-waving patriot, but there’s something about the national anthem at a baseball game. I think it’s because baseball, more than anything else I’ve seen in this country, truly reflects us all as a nation. Look in the stands. The fans are rich, poor, and in between. They’re every color and race, every age, gay, straight, female, transgender, democrat, republican. There are advertisements everywhere, but also tributes to our military. So, yeah, the national anthem before a baseball game gets to me.

It was not the national anthem, though that made me weep publicly, in sorrow and in gratitude for my fellow Americans. It was during a game early in the season of 2013, and Neil Diamond made a special appearance on the field between the seventh and eighth innings. Just weeks earlier, on Patriots Day, while the Red Sox were getting ready to play an early day game, as is traditional, those two twisted brothers-become-terrorists set pressure-cooker bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. I had cousins, coworkers, and friends in the city to cheer the thousands of racers, including some friends. My husband works just a few blocks from there. For a period of time, we couldn’t reach everyone we knew was there. My husband was caught in a citywide lockdown, unable to get home. I was in Africa, having difficulty getting any information, and struggling to get home. It was a traumatic experience for my family, our beloved city, and much of the country beyond.

So, that night, when Neil Diamond stood on that field and started to sing “Sweet Caroline” accompanied by a chorus of 37, 371 fans in the stands and millions more from Red Sox nation, watching on television or listening in their cars, I was singing “Good times never seemed so good. (SO GOOD! SO GOOD! SO GOOD!)” with them all, and was wholly undone.

Kristen Allen is a mother, daughter, wife, aunt, niece, and preschool teacher. She lives in central Massachusetts with her remarkable husband, two sons (because her daughter had the good sense to move out of town) and two incorrigible dogs. She’s written about family life, education, community service, and her ongoing battle with the Almighty at The Prodigal Son’s Mother (http://prodigalsonsmom.blogspot.com/), The Woonsocket Call newspaper, and other publications.

Music Reviews

Prayer

Boston Marathon bombing

Previous Post

September 12, 2017

Songs as Sanctuary: Michael Delp on Bob Dylan's "Ain't Talkin"

Next Post

September 13, 2017 Songs as Sanctuary: Eve Alexandra on Depeche Mode's "Blasphemous Rumours"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advent Approaching Mystery art Book Reviews Catholic Ghost Story Catholicism community Confession Current Events Dark Devotional Deconstruction Deconstruction Fellow Travelers I Want To Believe Interview Laudato Si Lent Mary Matthew's Letters Movie Reviews Music Reviews Our Charism Personal Essay Pilgrims Pope Francis Popular Piety Prayer Publishing Richard Beck Saints Satan Sheed and Ward Sick Pilgrim Charism Sick Pilgrim Chats Sick Pilgrim Events Sick Pilgrim Travelin' Medicine Show Sick Pilgrimage to The West Sick Pilgrims Small Joys Spiritual Autobiography Spooky Files of Ave Maria Magazine Spooky October Spooky Pilgrim Spooky Pilgrimage Strange Journey The Inklings Things Keeping Us Going Trying to Say God TV Reviews Uncategorized women in the Catholic Church Wonder Podcast Write the Vision

Select a Month February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 October 2019 September 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which prophet stood watch on a rampart to hear from God?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Amos Ezekiel Habakkuk Joel