Magic Power

The sound this man and tuba made was magical

Last night we went to a concert at UW-Madison. We went because my son needed enrichment credit for band, and after 8 hours at a soccer tournament (which my son's team won), let's just say none of us were too terribly psyched to head out for an 8pm concert.

But when this dude took the stage with his tuba -- I can't even begin to describe the sound. It isn't a sound I ever dreamed could come from a tuba, or from a man. I'm completely serious. It was absolutely breathtaking. I leaned over to my daughter and told her I was going to ask him to marry me. (I just looked up when he was born, and coincidentally, it was 1966, the same year as the New Englander.)

I guess I coulda used the tuba music to mark the day, but you know how I like my lyrics. And it just so happens that Triumph has a vintage classic that captures the magic that music can be:

Somethin's at the edge of your mind
You don't know what it is
Somethin' you were hopin' to find
You're not sure what it is

Then you hear the music
And it all comes crystal clear
The music does the talkin'
Says the things you want to hear

I'm young, I'm wild
And I'm free
I got the magic power
Of the music in me

She climbs into bed, she pulls the covers overhead
And she turns her little radio on
She's had a rotten day so she hopes
The D J's gonna play her favorite song

It makes her feel much better
Brings her closer to her dreams
A little magic power
Makes it better that it seems

She's young now, she's wild now
She wants to be free
She gets the magic power
Of the music from me

She's young now, she's wild now
She wants to be free
She gets the magic power
Of the music from me

If you're thinkin' it over
But you just can't sort it out
Do you want someone to tell you
What they think it's all about?

Are you the one and only who's sad and lonely
You're reachin' for the top
Well the music keeps you goin'
And it's never gonna stop

It's never gonna stop
It's never gonna, never gonna
Never gonna, never gonna
Never gonna stop

The world is full of compromise
The infinite red tape
But the music's got the magic
It's your one chance for escape

So turn me on, turn me up
It's your turn to dream
A little magic power
Makes it better than it seems

I'm young now, I'm wild now
I want to be free
I got the magic power
Of the music in me

I got the power, I got the magic
She's got the power, she's got the magic
She's got the power, she's got the magic
She's got the power, she's got the magic

I didn't, by the way, ask him to marry me. But I wouldn't have minded falling asleep to him playing that tuba nor waking up to it, either. Anyone with that much soul is bound to be pretty amazing in a lot of ways that this girl appreciates, though he did seem to know he was all that...