"Why We Sing"

A sound of hope, a sound of peace.
A sound that celebrates and speaks what we believe.
A sound of love, a sound so strong.
It's amazing what is given when we share a song.

This is why we sing, why we lift our voice,
Why we stand as one in harmony.
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice.
Take my hand and sing with me.

Soothe a soul, mend a heart,
Bring together lives that have been torn apart.
Share the joy, find a friend.
It's a never ending gift that circles back again.

This is why we sing, why we lift our voice,
Why we stand as one in harmony.
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice.
Take my hand and sing with me.
Music builds a bridge, it can tear down a wall.
Music is a language that can speak to one and all.
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice,
Why we stand in, stand in harmony.
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice,
Take my hand and sing with me.

This is why... this is why we sing!

I have been singing my whole life. My parents taught their five daughters to sing harmony together when we were barely tall enough to see over the piano bench. (Okay, maybe that's a little bit of an exaggeration..) Music has been more than just an important part of my life...it is in my very make-up as a person, an essential part of who I am. Concerts, plays, voice lessons, choirs, solos and duets...many of my very best memories and my very best friends come as the result of the music in my life. Right now I sing with The Sally Bytheway Chorale. Some of my nearest and dearest friends have come from this group...including my mother and two of my sisters. We performed our series of spring concerts these past couple of weeks. Our encore number is a song called "Why We Sing"....the lyrics of which I have typed above. It expresses the way I feel about music perfectly. Every time we sing it, the memories and the love I have for not only the people in this choir but also all the singing friends I have made over the years come flooding back to my mind and I cannot make it through without crying. I am so lucky, so blessed, so fortunate.