All songs
copyrighted
by David Rood
except as noted.
Play This Guitar For Me
Story
Dedicated to the memory of Barbara and Carrie.
Lyrics
We drove slowly to my friend’s house
In the late afternoon
The sun was shining cheerfully
I realized I’d left my headlights on
Excusing myself for a moment
I headed for the door
Through a sea of my friend’s in-laws
And the aroma of food left by neighbours
A man was standing by a car
For the same reason as I, I thought
But he held the guitar case we’d all seen
Next to the larger of the two boxes
He’d only met her a few times, he said,
But what he remembered was the music
He said, "I need to know there’s still a part of her,
So please, Play this guitar for me."
The spirit of the instrument was bright and alive
One, two, three, four...
I hesitantly touched the strings
And it began to sing
I was afraid somebody would hear
After all, I wasn’t family
But I felt I had permission
From the voice behind the strings
It wouldn’t be right to play my own songs
To tell another’s voice what to say
So I let go and it chose the tune
And a style that I’d never played
It was months before my friend’s wife,
Having heard what I’d done,
Said she always wanted us to meet
And share a laugh and a song
The saddest part was the daughter
Who had just begun flowering
My friend’s wife said, "I hear her voice
In the harmony, so please, Play this guitar for me."
The spirit of the instrument was bright and alive
One, two, three, four...
I closed my eyes and touched the strings
And it began to sing
Lyrics index