Sweet birthday wishes for Patsy Cline

To give you the dear reader an ever expanding view of the intricacies of my very complicated personality, today I'm revealing a side of me some might find unexpected. You may have never guessed my fondness for the singer Patsy Cline, but on this the 75th anniversary of her birth I'll treat you to that morsel as I celebrate her life in song.

Born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8th, 1932, she tasted both success and failure in her very brief, but hit filled career. She had reached the peak of her fame when her plane fell out of the sky in March of 1963, leaving us a long record of tear-filled melodies.

More than the meaning of the words she intoned, it's the cutting emotion of her songs that captured me on first hearing. The sentimentality of the lyrics to Sweet Dreams may be over the top, but hearing Patsy's interpretation of them can't help but leave an impression. (You can watch a YouTube tribute to Patsy Cline and judge for yourself). It's said that Bill Clinton fell for I Fall To Pieces, which certainly endears me more to the former president.

We may be tempted to pine away our days dreaming of those lost, but life's too short and there's plenty to enjoy here in the present. The music of Patsy Cline is just one example.

Sweet Dreams (Of You)
Written by Don Gibson
(As released by Patsy Cline, April 15, 1963)

Sweet dreams of you
Every night I go through
Why can't I forget you and start my life anew
Instead of having sweet dreams about you

You don't love me, it's plain
I should know I'll never wear your ring
I should hate you the whole night through
Instead of having sweet dreams about you

Sweet dreams of you
Things I know can't come true
Why can't I forget the past, start loving someone new
Instead of having sweet dreams about you

© Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. (BMI)