The lovely Ellen Meyer played her guitar and sang at First Christian Church's (San Angelo) courtyard concert today. She plays from the Great American Songbook of the 30s, 40s, and 50s, but she can play anything and sing anything. I requested Hoagie Carmichael's "Skylark," and she warbled away. She was so good, a mockingbird accompanied her entire program. Fortunately, the bird had a good ear. It was like another instrument improvising, answering back. Very appropriate, since the mocker joined Ellen with "Skylark" and went with her all the way through "Blue Skies." "Skylark" brings back fond memories from the 90's of dancing with my daddy to that song in the empty lobby of the Cactus, while my son played the sax in the adjacent corner coffee house. Son David played along with a soundtrack and earned extra run-around money in the tip jar. Happy days. "Skylark" inspired the title of a novel that I'm getting ready to submit to publishers, "Skylark Spring." Other inspirations from skylarks--their mating practices and the old Buick Skylark. Here's my one-liner about the book: Charley Bristow, handsome hair stylist in the dusty little West Texas town of Sulfur Gap, has a booming professional life but a personal life in shambles as he looks for love in all the wrong places.
So I've gone from praising Ellen Meyer to a shameless plug for my next book. It all fits together for me. Just part of the continuous fabric of being. Besides the serendipitous birdsong, I felt very powerful as a would-be psychic when I thought about two songs but hadn't yet requested them--and she played them ("Girl from Ipanema" and "Summertime").
I'm grateful San Angelo has wonderful musicians like Ellen Meyer to bring people together beneath the magnolias to enjoy the singing.