Sometimes there is so much more to a song than some clever lyrics and cool riffs.

Sometimes they are a sign that your guardian angel is just letting you know they around; that they are acknowledging the major milestones in your life or reminding you that while they are out of sight, they don’t have to be out of mind. It’s like being enveloped in the arms of an angel – literally.

When my husband and I lost our mutual friend Adam in 2001, the song that was played at his funeral was “Save Tonight” by Eagle Eye Cherry. And even though I was a heartbroken friend too far from home when it happened, that song has haunted me ever since. But after a decade of spookily significant times in which I’ve heard it play I know know better.

It’s a sign.

Don’t believe me? Then explain this…

The day my husband was to propose to me (which was unbeknownst to me at the time) we set off for a day trip to Dreamworld. And as he switched on the ignition, guess which song was the first to filter through the car? Save Tonight…

Or the day I found out I was pregnant… Deciding I needed to check the weather forecast before heading off to my Doctor’s appointment, I switched on the radio. And whaddaya know, what fills the air but the very same Eagle Eye Cherry song…

Then there was the aftermath of my beautiful Nan’s funeral… Fresh from leaving her graveside, with tears that spilled freely, I sat in the car and said a special prayer that I hoped she was now being reunited with my Pop and her lost children in heaven. At that moments Adam’s song came on in the car… To me it was such an immediate sign of recognition that she was now safely in the same place as he. And it was as if he was answering the very question I’d just pondered quietly in my own mind.

Three years in a row I heard this Eagle Eye Cherry tune at Easter, which was the last time I saw Adam. Or I’ll hear it on my birthday, as if passing a message of well wishes from beyond.

And finally, in October of last year, as a large crowd of Adam’s friends congregated on the Gold Coast to commemorate 10 years since we farewelled our shaggy haired friend, we were cruising through Surfers, en route to check into our accommodation when The Husband started flicking through random radio stations. Finally he settled on a choice. And as one song finished and seamlessly segued into the next, you can guess by now which lyrics were now filling our car. Yep, Save Tonight, the song I only EVER hear on these significant occasions that Adam would have wanted to be part in.

Each time I hear it, I’m always overcome. There’s the intense reflection on how much I miss this treasured friend, but these days too I find myself now also encountering a dash of happiness, knowing now that its more than just mere coincidence. It’s Adam’s way of checking in, to let us know there might be a realm of heaven and earth between us but that he continues to watch over we who’ve been left behind. From on high, he likely has the best view of all. And this song, this sign, is the way he tells me he really isn’t missing anything at all.

It ain’t easy to say goodbye
Darling please don’t start cry
‘Cause girl you know I’ve got to go
Lord I wish it wasn’t so

Save tonight
And fight the break of dawn
Come tomorrow
Tomorrow I’ll be gone