THE MONTH OF MAY

Beginning Friday, May 3, all of the stories for the month will honor Robin. I will post them on the front page and then later transfer them to his page at the end of the month.

April 26, 2013

Whenever I miss the three brothers performing together, I read one of the stories from my notebooks that I am finally sharing. They are so inspiring that they keep me focused and draw me back to the goal I am trying to accomplish, one baby step at a time. I think the magnitude of the music that Mo, Robin and Barry wrote can only be understood through real life experiences that have been shared. This is one of them.

THEIR MUSIC HEALS

Angie

Syracuse, NY

 When I was in middle school in the early 80’s, I adored the Bee Gees, and I drove my friends crazy playing all of their music and talking about Barry Gibb and how amazing he was. I was so wrapped up in them and how spectacular they were. My life was the life of typical middle class girl. I was pretty popular and had good grades. Then the unthinkable happened. My brother James was killed in a car accident when I was 11. He was 16 at the time. He was my big brother, my protector, and I thought he would always be there for me. I think I was in shock for months. It was surreal when I had to go back to school after the funeral and try to be a “normal” girl again. That was never going to happen. I was mad at everyone; I had no idea how to deal with this loss, and I retreated into myself. I stopped spending time with friends, became a nasty girl, was so frustrated and unhappy. I would listen to the Bee Gees in my room and try to calm down and relax. Music seemed to be the only thing that helped me. I went to grief counseling, but I didn’t feel that some stranger would understand what I was feeling. I didn’t even understand it myself. I basically was sleepwalking through my life for years;  but gradually, the music was helping me to heal. Through high school, I struggled, but I would come home and play the music and stay in my room. It did make a difference to me because I had lost all faith in people and God and didn’t trust anyone, but I did trust the music. It made no demands on me, but it did give me comfort., and I would stop crying when I’d start singing. Then Andy Gibb died, and I was devastated all over again. I knew what the brothers were going through because I was living it myself. When ONE was released, the two songs that helped me survive were “Tears” and “Wish You Were Here”. The words to these songs explained exactly what I was feeling. I could empathize with what Barry, Robin and Maurice were going through and felt so broken up for them. It was like having a personal connection to them even though I had never met them. That was such a strange feeling, but I was trying to come out of my own pain, and I was thinking about them instead of myself. It was a connection I would always feel. I think they wrote those songs to try and heal themselves a bit after losing Andy. As an adult, I remain devoted to their music and to what they stand for; they have done so much for people like me just by writing beautiful songs that help people get through day-to-day. Their music is about life and love and challenges, and loss. For years, the songs helped me and gave me support when I needed it most; and being so young, I think I could relate to music better than people. I was meant to be a fan when I was so young, I guess, because they truly were my life savers, and they didn’t even know it.