I love hearing people sing. And so I go to concerts in big halls: Bruce Springsteen, Andrea Bocelli and Lady Gaga in the last two years. Plus tiny spaces: the sweet voices of Fourchette in Gregor Samsa.

At Christmas I was singing karaoke with friends. Others at the party offered us songs they loved.

And I’ve sung at two open mic sessions recently. Another one on Friday night.

All this is well and good. What I miss is singing together. Not a choir, just a blending of voice among friends. In a living room, maybe under a tree. Not performance … just expressing with each other.

Harry Chapin wrote one of my favourite songs. Harry knew about the joy of together. And he shared his lyrics with us all:

Remember when the music
Came from wooden boxes strung with silver wire
And as we sang the words, it would set our minds on fire
For we believed in things, and so we’d sing

Remember when the music
Brought us all together to stand inside the rain
And as we’d join our hands, we’d meet in the refrain
For we had dreams to live, we had hopes to give

Remember when the music
Was the best of what we dreamed of for our children’s time
And as we sang we worked, for time was just a line
It was a gift we saved, a gift the future gave

Remember when the music
Was a rock that we could cling to so we’d not despair
And as we sang we knew we’d hear an echo fill the air
We’d be smiling then, we would smile again

Remember when the music
Was a glow on the horizon of every newborn day
And as we sang, the sun came up to chase the dark away
And life was good, for we knew we could

Remember when the music
Brought the night across the valley as the day went down
And as we’d hum the melody, we’d be safe inside the sound
And so we’d sleep, we had dreams to keep

Remember when the music
Came from wooden boxes strung with silver wire
And as we sang the words, it would set our minds on fire
For we believed in things, and so we’d sing

***

Well done, Harry. You opened my eyes to a time when our singing was one way we knew each other … and loved each other.

Why not again?