30 Days Of Song: Day 26

Day 26 – A Song You Can Play On An Instrument

“When You Were Mine” – Prince

There is a caveat for both this day and the next, being I used to be involved in the local music scens in a band. I used to be the frontman/vocalist for the group, not having the skills to play an instrument on stage. I also wasn’t a very good vocalist.

So after my band broke up I tried to start up something on my own, both with a backing band as as a solo act. Neither gained much traction, but I spent a while actually practicing the guitar. I knew enough to write a song and show other band members how it should go, but as for actually performance level, well, it never quite got there.

About this time I saw Prince in concert. It was easily one of the best concerts I had ever seen in my ly life (and I’ve seen a lot). He was touring behind his “Emancipation” album and was in high spirits. His show was amazing, with song after song after song, and his showmanship was superb.

The only thing that marred the performance was his abrupt ending of a song after the first verse and chorus for several of his older hits. “When You Were Mine” was one of those songs. He did, however, offer up a glimpse of the greatness it could have with the version he offered up, just him and his guitar – literally. The sparseness of the arrangement gave the song an emotional depth that really struck me.

A few days after the concert I went out and purchased a songbook so that I could learn to play “When You Were Mine” myself on guitar. The thinking was that I might possibly incorporate it into my solo act (an act that never materialized). There are a couple of tricky chord changes, but after a bit of practice I mastered them sufficiently to say that I could play the song.

It’s been years since I’ve practiced the songs, let alone picked up a guitar. Maybe I should head back into the basement and see how rusty I am.