Uncle Johnny played guitar well into his nineties.
The whole family brings their instruments to reunions,
Guitars, dreadnoughts, steel guitars, mandolins, and fiddles.
They even let me bring my banjo, though I am but an in-law.
Bluegrass is the preferred genre, though Hank Williams
Shows up in the mix sometimes when they get going.
This impromptu band will stop once in a while as if by some secret cue,
One of them will point at someone, seemingly at random,
And shout, "Take it!" and the hapless cousin on the end of that finger point,
Must play the riff he's been practicing for years and while looking at the ceiling
Nonchalantly, make his fingers fly up and down the frets.
I've never been that good a musician. I play banjo because it's colorful,
And hardly anyone else in the group plays one well enough to put me to shame.
To my horror during one family jam session, Uncle Johnny, meaning well,
Pointed straight at me and said to me, "Take it!"
What followed was 20 seconds of the opening sequence of "Dueling Banjos"
Followed by an awkward silence from the room as I stumbled over the fast bit.
Mercifully, my new relations, many of whom remembered the first time
That Dad or grandpa or one of the uncles pointed at them and commanded,
"TAKE IT!"
My wife's kindly relations, that day, quickly covered for my incompetence.
With a big burst of musical competence, with a distinct bluegrass flair.
Since then, I've been working on some kind of riff in the key of "G"
So, I'm ready if they ever call on me again, I have my own riff ready.
On the out chance one of them points at me and says, "Take it!"
Bluegrass is almost always in G and if it's not, I keep a copy of the key changes"
You get when you strap on a capo to my longneck banjo.
But in the meantime I pray they don't forget that Tom don't "take it."
I hard down love these dear country folk and their music
With which they graciously invited me to come and live amongst them.
