Every one Can NOT sing.

"I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain; What a wonderful feeling, I'm happy again." ~Arthur Freed


"My singing wasn't horrible, but my dancing really made it look silly. It's not like I'm a horrible singer that can't sing. But I don't have the consistency or the presentation skills that a good performer has." ~ William Hung



"Singing involves giving pleasure - you can't. You also look like you've been dragged through a bush." ~ Simon Cowell


Last night I got an invite to tag along with my friend Sheri to a new spot in town. She and her family do the out for supper thing every Thursday so although I expected her call I was a little surprised that we were going to eat at the new Karaoke club. I'm always game for a new experience so I was ready and waiting when they arrived to pick me up. In all fairness to the club, they served us wonderful food. The owner himself asking us over and over if everything was alright. The place was spotlessly clean even the restrooms and I personally saw the owner mopping up in the kitchen after he served our meals. I thought they had it decorated very nicely and as they don't serve alcohol in their club, the decorations will last and last. So the club itself was very nice.. almost perfect in fact.

~~ and then I saw the sign...


KARAOKE ~ FREE ~EVERYONE CAN SING!
free Karaoke every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night.
Come on out and sing.
Bring your own music.


If y'all don't already know it.. I want to tell y'all that NO everyone cannot sing. The first man who was on the stage when we got there.. He was doing a pretty good job. He sung some old country songs and he honestly did very well. Of course I would have liked him any way because I had already seen his beautiful Harley parked outside and had asked a young man whom the bike belonged to. They had nodded to the stage so I~ being me~ would have been biased on his account to start off with. I mean if you're old as dirt and ride a Harley and own the Karaoke equipment too.. wow.. I like you.. I would almost let you date my mama. So we all sit down dragging up another table since there is a crowd of us that always meet up on Thursday nights.
Sheri bustles all around getting together chairs and counting seats.. I am too busy. Something else has caught my eye. Something Tiny and shimmery and Black.

Behind where we are setting up for our rowdy friends is a table where two white haired ladies and one younger woman are playing some kind of card game surrounded by chicken strip plates and french fries. They are clapping for every song with these loud clapper things that you hold in one hand. I notice that they eat and play cards with one hand but never put the clapper down. It was as if the clapper were the most important thing at their table. Standing along side of them with a wrinkled old trash bag over her arm was a Woman with lots of make up and her hair pulled into the tightest Pony tail I myself have ever seen. It looked painfully tight to me. Just as I turned to look at them I heard her say to her friends ~
~" Tonight I'm gonna give everyone a treat besides my sanging! Tonight I done went and brung my Little Black Dress!" ~
I want everyone to know that I genuinely love people. I really do.. But just like everyone can't sing.. Everyone can't wear a little black dress either.

The Woman pulled her prize out of the wrinkled old trash bag and though a beautiful dress~ Tiny and black and all shimmery~ I was standing there thinking that there wasn't an Icicles chance in hell that that woman was gonna fit into that dress. "And dear God".. I added as an afterthought.. please let her take down her hair. Sheri got my attention and we all gathered around our table. Me leaning over to whisper in Sheri's ear about the black dress. Thankfully one of the card players convinced the woman to try the dress on a and let them see it first because she didn't think it was gonna look right.. "too Fancy" she said.. "Too little" I murmured under my breath at Sheri... "Out of style and Ugly as hell" she muttered back. Soon we saw the woman steeping out of the dressing room.. She had on tube socks up to the knee, a hole in the left toe and the heel gone out of the right sock. She had kicked off her shoes somewhere back there and was prancing out to the old lady table in the "Little black dress". I thank God for little old Card playing in the Karaoke bar Ladies!! They told her very quickly that "No Mam" she would not be going up on stage in that.. "we'll leave if you do" one of them added.. "you can sang" the other said." But that there dress don't do you no Justice." I almost felt sorry for the woman as she hurried away to put back on her black jeans and top.


The pony tail Lady and the Elvis looking man and the young ~ I wanna be Garth~ Man. They all sang. Another Woman, who I went to school with was there and she sang a good bit too. She teaches dancing, so I knew she was talented, But her singing was pretty good too.The man who was there when we got there he sang a lot. He did very well. He and my school mate even did a few duets. I asked about a song and they decided they did have it and would practice it together. Even Sheri's Daughter sang and even though she was scared and didn't do too good the first try, She came back in a little while and really did a great Job up on the stage.. She tossed in all the hand movements and little twists that make a good singer great to watch. But I have got to tell y'all that Everyone can NOT sing.

My Daddy used to say that even if you can't sing you can make a joyful noise. I'm gonna go way out on a limb here and say that all of the people who sang there last night, were making a joyful noise. We clapped for everyone.. we felt like we weren't quiet loud enough being that we didn't have those clapping things like the white haired ladies... But we clapped anyway. Some of them weren't that good. Some were just plain bad. But they all had fun. We had fun. We enjoyed our food. We laughed. I even did a line dance myself. I'm thinking I might talk my Mama into going out there one night.. She swears she can line dance too.. I kept thinking about when we were all young and we would gather round the piano and sing. Me and my sisters and sometimes a brother or two . I thought about how we sounded better than some of what was singing there last night. And I thought of Daddy and how he would sit with his eyes closed and listen to us.. and I remember him saying.. "If you can't sing~ Make a joyful noise anyway!"

Today try to make a joyful noise. Sing if you can. Sing along with the radio or sing in the shower.
Maybe your joyful noise can be talking to someone who needs a friend. Maybe it can be listening to someone who really can't sing that good and clapping for them Just because they had the courage to make a joyful noise! But never ever fool yourself that just because the sign says that they can.... NOT everyone can sing. Have a wonderful day!
Patsy