It’s Memorial Day here today in the States, so I had every intention of visiting my Dad’s grave after work and bringing my guitar. However, it’s a sweltering 95 degrees Fahrenheit and work kicked my ass today. I’ve promised myself that I’ll visit soon.
Dad was an Air Force veteran, and although he never picked up an instrument in his life, he instilled his love of music in all of his 7 kids from a very young age. Before he died at the young age of 49, he loved to hear all of us “kids” and our friends when we would get together to play music.
This is a cover song by one of my favorite bands, Days n Daze, which is about tragically losing loved ones way before their time. This song was written, played, and recorded with a ukulele... but I’m no uke player, so I had to adapt for guitar :)
Please excuse my out-of-tune singing and whistling. When I do solo entries, it’s usually a last minute decision and I don’t have time to practice. Plus it’s hot and I’m sweating like a whore in a Church house. 🤣🤣🤣
I’m feeling pretty emotional, so I’m sorry for being so “talkative”. But 2009 was one of the worst years of my life.
First, I lost two of my aunts (dad’s sisters) to multiple sclerosis. Then, one of my best friends, Tim, was killed in a tragic car accident. The very next morning, we woke up to find out that one of our other best friends, Kenny, had died from a heart attack in the middle of the night at age 29. Five months later, my dad succumbed to the effects of renal failure and cirrhosis of the liver and left this earthly life at the age of 49.
After Dad’s funeral, we all drove a few miles down the road from the gravesite to the river and decided to jump off of the rocks into the water... in our dress clothes! ;) (Wish I could find pictures of that day!)
My Dad was fun, outgoing and super spontaneous, so we knew he would have loved that.
Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to all of the brave people that have served, and those who are currently serving our country. And a big thanks as well to the entire #openmic crew for providing musicians of all kinds, a place to share and interact. I truly love this community.
Thanks for reading and listening!
Melbert, I love you. Your losses have been great, and so have your blessings. Hugs to you and yours today!
Awww, I love you too @hethur240. And you’re absolutely right: My blessings far outweigh my losses. Life is good..... :)
Damn good post! I teared up a little, happy tears.
I know it sounds weird, but my tears are happy tears too! ;)
Sorry for your loss of course. That was a heartfelt tribute and I appreciate it!
Rough stuff... but makes me appreciate life just that much more!
Your appreciation is much appreciated @oldguyphotots! :) I always get a kick out of your pictures and videos! 🤣
Beautiful cover ❤️And thank you for being vulnerable and sharing your stories with us here. That's fucking brave.
I loved the whistling and softer quality of your voice. The tone of the song is really somber and I thought they all came together to create a really interesting mix. ❤️
Thank you so much for the sweet words! ❤️ I don’t like to play solo as much as I do with my bandmates and friends, but I’m trying to get out of my comfort zone.
We’ve been through so many tragedies with our friends and family, so sadly, I’m pretty adjusted to talking about it. But it’s nice to have support from my Steemit family as well as my real life family and friends :)
I just got a chance to listen. I love it when you play this song. Your voice is so beautiful!!! I love and miss you!
I love you and miss you too! I prefer to sing this one with the girlies, but they were gone and I had a few spare minutes to myself ;)
Annabel can rock this out for sure!!! I havent had the oportunity to hear Maci sing it yet... but would love to sometime!