When I Take Your Hand

About five years ago I was listening to the radio on my way home from work when the most beautiful song came on. It was a slow, lyrical ballad sung by a woman with a soulful, smoky voice reminiscent of Billie Holiday. As soon as the song ended I called up the radio station on my cell phone and asked the DJ who they had just played. I felt like Odysseus drawn to the Sirens. I had to know who she was.

“Oh, you mean Norah Jones?” asked the DJ. Norah Jones. Norah Jones. I kept repeating the name to myself so I wouldn’t forget it and within the next few days I had her CD in my possession. That whole summer “Come Away With Me” was the soundtrack of my life and I will never forget hearing “Don’t Know Why” for the first time that day in the car.

Of course real music lovers had heard of Norah Jones way before she hit the mainstream. Real music lovers discover new artists and patronize local clubs to support hometown musicians. I love music, but I am not one to discover new music. By the time I hear a new song it’s not really new at all. It’s just new to me.

I’ve tried to discover new artists by downloading the freebies from iTunes. I’m all about the freebies, but I failed to connect to any of the artists I downloaded. Take Amy Winehouse for example. I downloaded one of her singles a couple of years ago before the rehab and the jailed husband made her an international name. I listened to the tune and thought, “Meh, she kind of looks like Prince but with more hair,” and sent the single to my trash bin.

That being said, you can imagine the incredulity I felt upon reading a message a young man sent me yesterday via Facebook asking me to listen to his songs. “My music appeals mostly to Women between the ages of 18-40, which is the same demographic Women bloggers appeal to” he wrote. He wanted to know what I thought, if I thought my readers would like it and if I would be willing to offer the song for free on my site. I thought, “Aw, jeez. This guy really has no idea who he’s trying to woo here.” Aside from the afore-mentioned music handicap, I have maybe a half dozen faithful readers and a couple of dozen hits to this site on a good day.

But I listened. And I liked. I liked a lot. His style reminded me a lot of Norah Jones, who he claims is a fan of his. This young man, Shaun Barrowes, has got my number. It’s as though he knew exactly what kind of music I wanted to hear and wrote a song just for me. I can’t wait to hear more from him. If you’d like to learn more about the guy, you can check out his blog or his Facebook group. He’s very talented. I hope you enjoy him.

Download: When I Take Your Hand by Shaun Barrowes