It’s a stupid thing to get misty-eyed over.

In our Sunday classes we usually do a song and then sing it together with karaoke. Last week we did Mama Mia and somebody in the class said they really like Dancing Queen, so this Sunday we’ll do that. I was grabbing a good copy of it, and decided on this one: https://youtu.be/G8O79uP0JmM

I have to admit I wasn’t all too familiar with it, but like all ABBA songs I was aware of it, and knew the melody, because most ABBA songs are catchy.

This song was released in 1976, so I had just turned 20 years old. I was still in undergraduate school. Somehow I was never the type to go clubbing – too busy with even more meaningless things – and watching this I suddenly got teary eyed. Over a stupid ABBA song!

Like – where has everything gone? When did I have a young life? I got to feeling like life is passing by too quickly. I came to Japan almost 34 years ago. 34 years from now I almost certainly will not be here. It’s all gone in a moment. And yet, there was a time, when people played like this.

It’s an upbeat song, not serious at all. I’m genuinely surprised it caused such a reaction in me. Particularly because it wasn’t a song I listened to when I was young.

I suppose it’s because it is evocative of an time in our lives gone by. A time I feel I somehow missed. I guess younger people wouldn’t feel this way about a dumb ABBA song.