Not only do I also love "Southern Cross," I also seek out the "extended version" that doesn't always get on the radio with the extra verse at the very end.
"Ode to Joy" fan here too. There were two Robert Fulghum essays that discussed this -- the first was about him saying that it ALWAYS picked him up out of mental doldrums, that no matter how down he was, if he listened to this then by the end he usually was charging around the house doing air-conducting and singing along in Germanesque gibberish. The second one came about because of the first one -- his local symphony read the essay and invited him to come and join them as a special guest to play the kettle drums onstage during "Ode To Joy" one night. Which he did. And loved it.
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"Ode to Joy" fan here too. There were two Robert Fulghum essays that discussed this -- the first was about him saying that it ALWAYS picked him up out of mental doldrums, that no matter how down he was, if he listened to this then by the end he usually was charging around the house doing air-conducting and singing along in Germanesque gibberish. The second one came about because of the first one -- his local symphony read the essay and invited him to come and join them as a special guest to play the kettle drums onstage during "Ode To Joy" one night. Which he did. And loved it.