186. "The Theme to the Man from Snowy River" by Bruce Rowland
This song was on another movie soundtrack tape that Elder Boehm had when we were together in Östersund. On this top-200 list, it edges out "The Theme to Somewhere in Time" because it's from a movie that I actually saw about 6 times before my mission. Today, saying that you've seen a movie 6 times means you maybe saw it in the theater once and then 5 times on video after that. But that's not how things worked in the early 80s. Yes, VCRs were available in the early 80s, but they cost a bit of money, and my folks didn't buy one until after I left for Sweden in 1985. That meant if I liked a movie and wanted to see it more than once, I had to go to the theater to see it. Yes, the Downey Theater made literally tens of dollars off me in 1982 from the tickets, and a whole lot more off of my favorite movie-watching treat, Peanut M&Ms mixed with Cherry Nibs.
When Elder Boehm brought out this tape, I couldn't have been more excited. Because I'd seen it so much, I could imagine the movie scenes associated with the music. It was like I could watch the movie in my mind, and since watching movies was against the mission rules, listening to this soundtrack was the pinnacle of rule-abiding entertainment. It also had a nifty piano opening and goose-bumpy "Waltzing Matilda" trumpet parts in it. Elder Boehm knew I liked it so much that he gave me his soundtrack when I left Östersund, and I listened to it throughout my mission.
While a lot of people prefer "Jessica's Theme" as the top song from this soundtrack, I like the ending titles from the movie more because you can hear the trumpets playing the "Waltzing Matilda" part in it, which reminds me of how my father served a mission in Australia. Also, it brings back memories of how much my friends and I liked all things Australian in high school, especially Paul Hogan!
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