When
people ask me what kind of music I like, I usually reply that if it is good of
its kind, I will almost certainly enjoy it. Many people hate that answer, but
it is true. Pop, Classical, Country and Western, Blues, Gospel, whatever...if
it is good of its kind, it will have a quality able to reach and move the human
heart if only the human heart will let it. In the natural world, the same can,
of course, be said for birdsong, various animal sounds, wind in trees, waves
lapping (or lashing) at a shoreline...
Now, I
well recall an evening some years ago when I was on my way home after a
particularly BAD day at work. The thought of returning to my lonely, empty flat
was killing me. For no particular reason, I took a different route which meant
taking in a subway where a busker was playing. I passed, paused, and stopped to
listen to a lively mixture of jazz and other shades of popular music. It talked
to me, the music. More than that, it told me a good few home truths like
feeling sorry for myself would get me nowhere fast and being lonely was
nobody’s fault but my own. I had to go to the world as it sure as hell wasn’t
going to come to me.
The
busker finished playing and I asked the name of the piece which turned out to
be something he’d only recently composed himself, and called it ‘Hello, world,
I’m Here, Where Are You?’ I gave him all
the loose change I had and headed straight for my local pub where I had a meal,
got chatting to people (some of whom would become good friends) and felt all
the better for saying, yes, you’ve guessed…‘Hello, world, I’m here…’
What
happened to the busker? I have no idea. Over the years, I’ve watched out for
him on TV and listened out for that piece of music on the radio, but in vain.
Oh, but
one way or another, the world, thank goodness, has always had and always will
have...music.
THE BUSKER
or MUSIC, SPIRIT of LIFE
Busker,
making music,
all kinds
of music;
without
music, we might
as well
be dead
Body
rhythms, vibrations,
they all make
music
even deaf
people can hear
for
everyone to share;
if a
‘sound’ means nothing
it has to
mean something,
making mind,
body and spirit
equal to
the occasion
aware
something’s out there
keeping
us happy, sad,
fulfilled…
as only music can
Busker,
making music,
all kinds
of music,
drowning
out war cries,
making
peace instead
It’s a
happy heart that sings,
a heavy
one that cries;
joy and
tears are universal
to one
and all;
where
‘song’ means nothing,
it has to
mean something
making
body, heart, and spirit
equal to
the occasion
aware
something’s out there
keeping
us happy, sad,
fulfilled…as
only music can
Busker,
needing music
like we
all need music,
all kinds
of music turning
stress on
its head
Copyright R. N. Taber 2008; 2015
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