Singing From the Heart

We had some friends round the other day to help celebrate a birthday. It had been a while since we saw them so we were surprised to find their three young boys had grown tall. The youngest was ten and the other two were teenagers and taller, and took a larger shoe sizes, than their dad. They had hair in their eyes, were all arms and legs and had mobile phones stuck to their hands.

Well it was a lovely reunion and we had great birthday food (the kids put away more food than the rest of us) but after cake a number of us retired to the spare room to play the piano. All the lads were musicians and could sight-read well. The piano was digital so we turned on the drum and bass accompaniment and started on a book of songs. The middle son took the right hand and the little one took the left. I suspect either of them could have played with both hands but they decided to share and there was enough room on the stool for them both and for the small one to jig around to the music.

Dad also came in so we started singing. After a couple of songs we dropped our guard and belted out the lyrics and tune – just not caring. The kids threw their head back to sing as if their lives depended on it – the youngest still with his treble voice. It was unrehearsed, spontaneous, raucous and fantastic fun. There was a palpable energy and a male fellowship which felt rare and wonderful.

I was reminded of the time I went to my first prison church service. It was the first time I was in a religious service with just men present. I was sitting at the back and soon became overwhelmed by the power of men singing and praying vigorously from their heart. It was an intimate companionship. It was as if I had found something I had lost. The fellowship of men singing seemed like a jigsaw piece which fitted into place for the first time to complete something which should have been there from the beginning. 

Perhaps men need to discover how to sing together and to find in that singing a deeper brotherhood. I congratulate the young fellas’ ability to sight read and the father who has nurtured his boys to sing with abandonment. 

Photo by Yuliia Tretynychenko on Unsplash