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June 10, 2009
The Mysterious Tennessee Waltz
Last Friday Sheryl and I played a gig at the Vero Beach Yacht Club.
Just before we started, a spry, charming, elderly lady called me over to her table.
“Would you please play the Tennessee Waltz?” she asked.
“I’d be happy to,” I replied, “but I can’t remember all the words, so I’ll have to play it instrumentally.”
“That’s OK,” she said, “It’s the state song of Tennessee, you know.”
Her husband had been listening in to our conversation, “Will you also play “Rocky Top?” he requested.
“Oh, don’t play that!” she teased, “That song was written to be sung at football games.”
“We’re from Tennessee,” he proudly informed me, “and that’s one of my favorite songs.”
We played both songs.
This was not the first time a long-married, sweetly devoted couple asked for the “Tennessee Waltz.” What makes it interesting is that while it’s a tender, romantic, country tinged melody, the lyrics tell the story of a man who brought his sweetheart to a dance, introduced her to a friend of his, and then watched helplessly as his friend stole his sweetheart away, as the friend and the sweetheart danced to the beautiful Tennessee Waltz.
Later on the gentleman proudly informed me that he had proposed to his wife in 1948 in front of the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
I wonder if they met a dance?
Tennessee Waltz
I was dancin' with my darlin' to the Tennessee Waltz
When an old friend I happened to see
I introduced her to my loved one
And while they were dancin'
My friend stole my sweetheart from me.
I remember the night and the Tennessee Waltz
Now I know just how much I have lost
Yes, I lost my little darlin' the night they were playing
The beautiful Tennessee Waltz.
Posted by leonolguin at June 10, 2009 04:13 PM