Neil Diamond's 'Song Sung Blue' becomes neat surprise

• "Song Song Blue" rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was Diamond's 2nd No. 1 (after "Cracklin' Rosie")
• The song rose to No. 14 on the UK singles chart
• The song was nominated for, but didn't win, Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 1973 Grammy Awards

I finished off a shift the other night and had to pick up a few things at the grocery store afterward.

It wasn't quite midnight, and I wasn't expecting to run into too many other folks in the aisles.

As I was walking through the store, I listened to the music on the store's sound system. I don't remember what the first song was, but the second one? Oh yeah, I recall that one very clearly.

Chances are, you have some kind of strong feeling about Neil Diamond. You probably love him or hate him, and the same is likely true for his hit songs. How do you feel about "Song Sung Blue," for example?

I love it. I remember being a really young boy, maybe 5 or 6, and hearing the song. I remember my folks singing along with it. There's something comforting, something soothing in Neil's delivery. He has a smokey, warm voice to start with, but his ability to croon and coax adds something extra special.

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"Song Sung Blue" was the tune playing at the grocery store, and I was reminded of just how much I enjoy the song.

In need of a diamond? Seek out some Neil

I'd say that most of the time, I don't see too many people react to the music played at grocery stores. It's mostly background, right? Songs where you might say, "Oh, I like this one," but you don't do much beyond that.

What caught my attention was that I was passing a number of aisles where people of different ages and backgrounds were either singing along (softly, for the most part) or were even dancing along to it (one couple was dancing together in one aisle, while a young boy was twirling and kicking to it in another).

And that's just one of the reasons I love music so much — the good stuff reaches you, it affects you, it can bring you to life. It doesn't matter your age, it touches something inside you, it makes you sing, it makes you dance. It's something so indescribable, and beautiful.

And the song itself? Neil himself will tell you, it's not a sad song. It's a song to make you feel better as you sing along.

And it works. Perfectly.

The 1972 hit from Diamond's "Moods" album was his second No. 1 record on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 1973 Grammy Awards, but didn't win either. Still, it says a lot about the power of the song that it rose that high and was in the conversations for those awards.

Listening to it now, it doesn't sound like anything terribly different or complicated. But it's inviting, it's soothing, it's got a sing-song quality to it, it's simple enough to pick up, and the melody and uncomplicated lyrics take up spots in your head. I find myself humming the song when I'm mowing, even if it's been months since I last heard it.

It's one of those deceptively simple ideas that everyone, no matter their background, can relate to.

"Me and you are subject to the blues now and then / but when you take the blues and make a song, you sing them out again."

It sometimes does feel that simple. Just singing out the pain, singing out the blues, lifting your voice and exorcising the worries. Allowing joy to take hold, even if it's just for a couple short minutes.

"Funny thing, but you can sing it with a cry in your voice / and before you know it started feeling good, you simply got no choice." 

And that's how this song works, for young or old, you start feeling good. You simply got no choice.

That's how it was for me, that night. And that's how it was for those other shoppers, the singers, the dancers. The song took hold, and the joy kicked in.

Pure magic. Great music can do that. Embrace it, and go with it. Even if it hits you when you're buying bread or picking up milk. Take advantage of those good feelings whenever you can.

This is the opinion of music enthusiast Chris Shields. Follow him on Twitter @clshields1980. Read more at www.sctimes.com/cshields.