Jan. 19, 2024

Some songs are meant to be listened to. Others are meant to be sung along to.

Hummingbird, from Wilco’s sonic powerhouse 2004 album, A Ghost Is Born, is one of the latter. In fact, I sang it loudly in my car twice today, driving to and from school.

It’s a song I’d love to sing to others, but I’ve been told enough times that I can’t sing well. So for everyone’s sake, that won’t be happening.

In addition to being a great sing-along song, Hummingbird is also a song I see myself in. The overall theme of it — a desire to be the sort of person who remains in people’s lives as a positive memory, a voice that was worth hearing and remembering — is something I strive for daily.

It’s a big part of why I’m a teacher, why I live to make people laugh, why I do my damndest to not leave bad feelings scattered around like dried autumn leaves.

I want to be the kind of person who makes the world a little bit better. I’m not going to rock the world anytime soon. I know that. But if I can zip into a scene like a hummingbird, brighten the day just a little bit as I flutter to and fro, maybe pass a bit of cheer down the line, I’ll call it a win.

I might not be able to sing, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a voice.

His goal in life was to be an echo

The type of sound that floats around

And then back down like a feather