Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh, so mellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain was yellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When you were a tender and callow fellow.
Try to remember, and if you remember,
Then follow.

Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow, follow, follow, follow.

Try to remember when life was so tender
That no one wept except the willow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
That dreams were kept beside your pillow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
That love was an ember about to billow.
Try to remember, and if you remember,
Then follow.

Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow, follow, follow, follow.

Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow, follow, follow, follow.

Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow, follow, follow, follow.

Deep in December, it’s nice to remember,
Although you know the snow will follow.
Deep in December, it’s nice to remember,
Without a hurt the heart is hollow.
Deep in December, it’s nice to remember,
The fire of September that made us mellow.
Deep in December, our hearts should remember
And follow.

I (finally!) watched The Fantasticks last night. Mas natutuloy talaga ang mga bagay na di planado, hehe. For some reason, I became teary-eyed when I heard the opening song, Try to Remember. I did remember a lot of things…

6am-6pm Sundays of three back to back shows in the GSP Theater. Memorizing the underground backstage so that we can run from one end to the other in pitch blackness. Hauling tables and lampposts and disco lights. Stepping on thumbtacks and nails without a hint of pain because the show must go on. Quick changes and tabletop dancing and dodging flying plastic chairs. Knowing exactly when an audience will laugh and getting surprised when they do get a particularly obscure joke. Being onstage and keeping the fourth wall intact. Astral, CAS, Remedios and Taft. Being with the Batingawers.

Gown fittings and borrowed closed shoes and make-up sessions and makeover attempts. Dinner at Karate Kid and sleepless weekends. Tape-recorded practice tracks and the transition to MP3. Mimicking our conductor’s flamboyant gestures and trying not to sound like Ading Fernando. Going to Lipa, Batangas and enjoying the delicacies at Benok’s. Learning to be a loudspeaker and a tuning fork. Luring dormers to sing with the promise of free dinner. Christmas cantatas and the months of rehearsals beforehand. Suman, donuts, puto, salmon sardines, bagoong with mangga. Vesper Choir when I was still an (innocent) student.

Walking in the Luneta waaay past curfew, then sitting on the steps of the Finance Building. Singing the Ms Saigon libretto in tandem while walking in front of the CCP. Getting busted in the middle of a prayer meeting. Taking the plane instead of a boat home.  Voice tapes sent over 500 miles via friend mail. Walking in a strange crowd in the middle of a festival, holding on for dear life. Listening to choir rehearsals for a wedding. Three-hour long-distance conversations and P3,000 celphone bills. Guitar lessons, P&W jamming sessions and PEP test English tutorials. Bullying, singing contests, massage sessions and team breakfasts. Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks and Coffee Bean. Doulos, a Valentine’s lunch at 1:00 am, and seeing several shooting stars in a single night. Laughing in the rain, walking hand in hand.

Nice to remember, indeed. =)