Music We Enjoyed or Contributed

We spent a night in the campsite in Gulpen, The Netherlands. Most trailers seemed to be parked there forever, so they had a restaurant and a nightclub. The band had a saxophone, drums, and other instruments, and played a funny style of music. The first song we recognized was “Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny,” and all the rest sounded just like that to us.

We drove up the narrow switch back road to Taormina, Italy (Sicily), and fell in love with the place. Emmy immediately wanted to stay for an extra day or two. As we walked, we met a group of young people singing familiar Gospel hymns as they wandered through the town.

One night of July 14, Bastille Day, was spent in Mulhouse, France. There was a man at the outdoor patio who played a sit-down style accordion, really a cross between a small organ and an accordion laying on a table. Among other songs, he played “Besame Mucho,” a song written by a friend of ours.

We were in Vienna, Austria, on August 15 one year, a holiday of some unknown name. A Catholic priest walked through the campsite with a portable loud speaker announcing he was going to hold a service. They sang “Amazing Grace,” and other hymns that we almost recognized.

One Sunday morning, while traveling from Norway to Denmark on a ferry similar to a first-class cruise ship, a delicious buffet breakfast was served, for about $5 per person. A fifteen-piece live band entertained the passengers, and a smaller band, with a group of young singers, serenaded the passengers with beautiful Gospel music.

We rode the subway to downtown Stockholm, walked in the rain, then saw much of the underground shopping center in the downtown area. A lady was singing while she played “How Great Thou Art” on a battery powered organ, so we joined in her singing. She wanted us to take the mike, but we’re not that good.

As we walked through the gate of flood-lit Carcassonne, France, I noticed the next song in the street musician's songbook was the hymn “Amazing Grace.” At the end of my solo, daughter Linda tipped the flute player an extra ten francs.

She reminded me the applause came after — because? — I had stopped singing.