How Can I keep From Singing? By Anne-Louise Sterry

When I was a child one of the things that sticks in my memory and my heart was my extended family singing and telling stories together. You see often when we got together with my dad’s side of the family, after dinner the grownups would sit with drinks in hand singing….and telling stories of the old times. Now at first no one played an instrument, they simply sang. Later my dad did learn the ukulele but that was an added bonus, not necessary if you see what I mean.

They sang all the old songs which of course were not old to them.
Casey Would Dance with the Strawberry Blonde, Heart of my Heart, Sweet Adeline, you know what I mean. I can remember playing around maybe under the table when I was very young then, as I grew older, hanging around the fringes and sometimes sitting with them as they sang.

It was extraordinary really, being a kid surrounded by the love and community of music and stories. I learned much about life, puzzling over the words, turning them around in my mind, talking about what a story or song might mean with my sisters and brother. I learned about community, connection, love. I learned about families being together no matter what happened during the day. I learned that there was a place where I was safe and loved, surrounded by these ordinary everyday people joining their voices in song, their smiles getting bigger, hands patting our heads if we were close by.

I don’t pretend to you that our life and family were perfect. Of course they were not and we had our hard times like every other family. But there was that core, that connection, that community that was always there. Now I can list for you all the benefits of music and storytelling as there has been much research done in recent years in these areas. This research is important as we struggle to convince others that storytelling and music have an important place in our lives. But I believe that the connection, joy and love that making music and sharing stories together bring to us is central to why we must find a way to keep it in our lives and the lives of those we touch.

It is astonishing when you think of it - the power of music and story. I believe this power helps us to heal, nuture, connect, pray, create, lower our blood pressure (how did that get in here?) teach, explore…love.
I wish all that for all of us…