The Power of Music - part 2? Appendix? Whatever?

I once played a bar WAY up in north Jersey. Tiny bar, tiny town. Nothing up that way, and the locals really appreciated it when some live music came up their way. The turnout was good and we were pretty in the pocket of the groove.

This pretty young thing was dancing all up and down near us enjoying a night out During a set break she asked if her father (who loved the kind of blues music we did) could sing a song with us. Bands hate this, but the elderly gentleman looked so sincere we thought ‘why not?’. We talked over a few mutual tunes we might know, what he knew lyrics for, and what key he’d be more or less comfortable in. He ended up singing “Worried Life Blues” with us.

He sang it pretty well, his voice creaked a bit, but he sang it with passion and presence.

The thing that really made it stick out in my mind was that whole time he gazed into his wife’s eyes while singing. His whole world stopped, and she was everything in it that ever mattered to him. He sang as if every note was a testament to the long years of love he had for her, and their daughter smiled.