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Happy Birthday, Don Williams

This blog was written in April of 2011.  I'm posting it again in honor of Don Williams' 77th birthday.

I love music, all real music.

From Bach to Bruce, Wagner to Wayland, Crawford to Campbell...they are all my favorites. My list does not include those 'musicians' who substitute volume and fireworks for talent, but that's a blog for another day.

Several weeks ago, weary from winter, I was surfing the net, looking for something exciting to do during spring break. And there it was...Don Williams at the Georgia State Fairgrounds in Hiawassee! I ordered tickets the next minute.



Don Williams has been a favorite since the first time I heard him. I wore out several cassette tapes of his poetry set to music. When he was in concert nearby, we were just never able to go. After being a fan for thirty-plus years, I finally got to see him in concert.



He didn't disappoint.

"Good Ole Boys Like Me" stirs my soul and I was so thankful when he opened with it, after a lengthy standing ovation when he walked out on the stage. It was followed by many of his well known songs that never get old. He didn't say much, but when he did, his voice was surprisingly low with a Texas drawl.

The weight of years showed on his shoulders. The 'Gentle Giant' may have some age in his eyes, but the clear baritone voice and the poet's heart have not changed, not changed one iota.













Outside, a storm was brewing. We could hear thunder during the concert. When the concert ended, after several standing ovations and an encore, we walked outside to lightning flashing and wind gusting. We got to the car just before heavy rain and hail assaulted North Georgia, a storm so fierce that it made the local tv news the next day.

Who cares about a storm when you have just seen Don Williams? I want to see him again. Soon.

..but it really doesn't matter how far I go...I can still hear the soft southern wind in the live oak trees....

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