Many years ago I hosted a daily noon-hour request show at Ottawa’s CHRI-FM. I had mixed feelings about it.

The plus was the interaction with the audience. Radio is a solitary occupation, and those who called in with requests were a reminder that there was an audience out there, that the songs I was playing weren’t for me.

My taste in music is broader than most people’s. The station’s music director kept a tight leash on what I was allowed to play.

Ordinarily that would have really annoyed me, but in this case I didn’t complain. Nor did I try to sneak in songs I wasn’t supposed to play.

That’s because I was the music director. I had to set an example and follow the format. Except during the request hour, when the audience dictated what I was to play.

Usually the requests were for songs people had heard frequently on the station. People like the hits. Sometimes though there would be a request for something heavier, or perhaps with a country twang.

It was a request show. If we had it I played it.

Which is how the song I’ve linked at the top of today’s post came to be played. The caller didn’t actually request it. He asked if I would play something I really liked, something I would listen to at home.

I’m sure he didn’t know what he was asking for, but I couldn’t resist. “This Sad Music,” by British poet Steve Scott has been bubbling in my brain for decades.

Definitely not a hit. Probably not heard by many, and liked by even fewer. But it speaks to me.

As I understand it, we don’t know what causes whales to beach themselves. When a whole pod does so it is disturbing. Especially as it is frequently fatal for the whales.

With the image of beached whales in his head, Steve Scott has crafted a thought-provoking musical painting about modern society. Well, that’s what I think it is about today.

Tomorrow I may think it is about herd mentality. Or TV preachers. I’ve been listening to this song for 40 years now, without ever being completely sure I understand what it is about.

If you think you understand it, please tell the rest of us.