Blog 799 – 10.19.2017
Unforgettable
Some years ago a lovely young singer named Natalie Cole made a musical video of herself singing the song Unforgettable with her famous father, Nat King Cole, who had made the song famous when she was just a little girl. It is beautiful and I provide a link here so you can see it and hear her and her dad sing together.
I do not claim to be half the singer Nat was nor that my daughter, Emily, was the singer Natalie is but when Emily sang for me my heart melted and from the first time I heard her sing what I call The Baby Song I wanted to sing it with her. I actually did sing it with her once before she died, over five years ago now. A couple of years before she passed on one of the famous mixed CDs that were her favorite Father’s Day gift to me she included The Baby Song and accompanied herself on Blondie, her Gibson guitar. Travis, Em’s nephew, has her guitar now but I have Goldie, her ukulele. Someday I may learn to play it, maybe not, but I have it to remind me of Em and how she filled her world with song.
Emily loved music, and sang in front of people from the time she was a little girl. I know that in duets one person usually sings the melody line and the other alto or something to accompany the lead singer. I have always preferred the melody line in songs and so that is what I am used to singing. I have sung this song hundreds of times with Emily in my travels on the road these last five years. I had just begun my full time life on the road when Emily got sick. She lasted just a couple of weeks after the biopsy revealed she had cancer. She went home on a Thursday leaving her beloved Virginia for an even lovelier place and I drove to Homer, Alaska to celebrate her home.
A couple of weeks ago I had the idea to record Emily and I singing The Baby Song together in my truck were I have sung it with her so often. I hope it will encourage your heart as she always did and still does mine.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5UGucaz8iwNT2RtRjg1a21FRzFUeXpkVXQydHhldTR5Mld3/view?usp=drivesdk
Your friend and fellow traveler,
David White
theencouragingword 