Music is my first love. My medicine. My joy. The vehicle for expressing my creative force in the world. When I sing and dance something magical happens. I feel that I’m putting something positive out into the world. As Martha Graham says, our bodies are our instruments, but our art is inside our bodies. When I see dancers dance, I am captivated by the synergy of the body in harmony with the music.

When a song pierces me like an arrow, something deep within my psyche gets activated, and it gets played on repeat. Meaning, I have to listen to it over and over, as it becomes part of my musical memory archive. My music library is vast, and I pull out songs and melodies as balm or bliss, for whatever emotion is current.

Recently I’m revisiting an old friend. Charles Aznavour. We got acquainted in my teens when I was studying French ‘A’ level at school. A university friend was at the Sorbonne, and would bring his discs back to the UK for me. My years living in France brought him even more to life for me. In the aftermath of my divorce, one of his songs saw me through nights of desperation, when love was no longer being served, and I had to reconstruct a broken heart. “Il faut savoir.”

These last days, when I’ve been reflecting on how we never know when we might see old friends and acquaintances and loved ones again, a song of Aznavour came to light. It’s called “nous nous reverrons un jour ou l’autre” - we will see one another again one day or another.

As pilgrims, we often start out our pilgrimage with a band of brothers and sisters. We wonder if we will meet again in Santiago or somewhere on the path. My own experience of reconnecting with people ‘along the way’, has always been a gift. I am at a stage of life, when I really am hoping to meet again very precious people, who mean a great deal to me. I’ve sent them the Aznavour song, as a reminder of how much I love them.

So this is my pilgrim song for these times. I hope you like it too. Smooch to it or let your soul glide along with the words. Play it on repeat. It’s great medicine.

Julia - a sentimental pilgrim in Portugal.