A Song from the Heart

I was at a Caribbean Party at a fellow writer's house this past weekend and had one of those extraordinary things happen.  So I thought I’d share.

My Honey and I arrived and were greeted by our lovely hostess and another writer.  Then we were off on our own to grab a drink and mingle.  My Honey kept wanting to sit at the patio table and I wanted to move around.  I moved, he sat.  And then sometime later he motioned for me to come over, so I did.  And what had he found?  A couple from our hometown, our high school, our university!  Small world.  So we talked of crawfish boils and the Saints and music…love that Looziana sound!  My Honey beamed at finding “the band” for me.  He knows how I love my music peeps!  

And then the couple wandered off and we were left with another quieter couple at our table.  It was an older gentleman and his wife of many years.  They seemed content and happy to be there.  The man asked how we knew our hostess.  So I elaborated on writing and genres and such.  And come to find out, the man’s a writer too.  A songwriter.  And off we went on a how-to journey of writing and style.  We both agreed in the end that we might not know why something works, the mechanics and names of form and style.  But we know when it works and when it works, it just does.  

We had a great time at the party.  Our hostess never fails!  And I loved hanging with the music people and laughing with my writer friends too.  But from this party, I brought something home I didn’t expect to receive….a new music friendship and a song that touched my heart.

Several years ago, a friend shared a song with me that I loved so much I share it every year at Memorial Day or Veterans Day.  It’s a song of those who served to give us freedom and it reminds me of the men and women who have come and gone, who served our country so that we could live free of fear.  That song is Pittance of Time by Terry Kelly.  It melts my heart.

But this year I have a new song, To My Brother Private William Jones.  The heart that rings out through its story is beautiful and touching.  It’s a song by Mr. Earl Watts, my newfound music friend from the Caribbean Party.  He claims he’s just an ordinary man, yet he plays a not-so-ordinary song. He recently played it for the opening of the Huntsville Madison County Veterans Memorial in Huntsville, AL, and was received with thankfulness by Veterans and Active Duty as well as family members of those who fought for our country.

 And so for this upcoming Memorial Day weekend, I share it with you.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgEFFzfWc2s   

Jump on over to YouTube and listen to the song and ponder the words Mr Earl has to share.  Perhaps you will be reminded of someone who served so that you could be free.  And you too can be thankful.  

 

Happy Memorial Day, y’all!  Come Monday, enjoy some BBQ, corn on the cob and maybe a beer.  But remember the men and women who fought so that we could be free.