Today I had plans to meet up with a friend and sing. I love to sing, I do it a lit at home, but out in public its a different story. But what the hell, I'm trying to overcome some things, so what better way than to get out of my comfort zone. So at 2 this afternoon, me and my girls set off for the river. It was overcast, which was a blessing , because walking in full sun, would have been too much.
I usually come to the river either first thing in the morning, or last thing in the evening, when it's not too hot. That way I can just sit out and not worry too much about shade. Today though was different. My friend arrived before me and had already found a place under the bridge, which was perfect.
I was surprised that there was not a lot of people when we first arrived, but as the day progressed, more and more arrived. The first thing I did, was strip down to my swimming costume and immerse myself in the refreshing cold water. It was like a reset.
My girls were super happy to be by the water and for most of the time occupied themselves by swimming and exploring, whilst I caught up with my friend. He brought his guitar along, he's super quick at picking up music and he has a really great voice. I did feel a bit nervous at the thought of singing with him, but he has a very relaxed energy and he put me at ease.
But even still, my voice was shaking when I began to sing. Infact my whole body was. It's not easy putting your voice into the world whilst other people are around. We kept moving further back so I would feel more comfortable. Until I was able to just let go and sing. I don't have the best voice, I just enjoy how it makes me feel. Plus singing is a wonderful form of release.
I sang some Irish songs, very quietly at first and then finished off with Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun", which I must say is a great song to sing. When I'm singing Irish songs, I feel myself almost float away with them. But when I was singing Black Hole Son, I felt more grounded, as its a more heavy song to sing, if that makes sense. It's also more playful.
The Irish songs I sang, were more tragic really, they demanded me to be more serious. At least that's how I like to sing them. But they also come with a lot of feeling as I feel very connected to them. We also had a bit of fun with a poem I recently wrote, which has some good rhymes, which I taught might be good to rap. I gave it a go, but I'm not sure I'll try it again maybe I'll let some else use it.
In between all of the singing, we managed to swim and also eat some food. My girls also took turns taking photos, and I have included some if them in this post. As we were leaving, I bumped into another friend of mine and she has the most incredible voice. When I introduced her to my friend, he was eager to hear her sing. So he played Hallelujah on the guitar, at her request, whilst she sang and I done my best to harmonise with them. She has such a powerful voice, that the people around gave a round of applause when she finished. It was just such a joy to hear her sing. And the perfect way to end our day.