Play us a song you're the piano man, play us a song tonight,
well we're all in the mood for a melody, and you've got us feeling alright.
While visiting the village of El Muyo in Segovia, I met a local man called Raul who stopped by my coffee shop table to say hello when he heard me speaking English. Raul was staying in his village and helping to repair a roof but he actually lives in England.
Raul was incredibly friendly with strangers and equally helpful assisting at the bar, helping to carry out beers and orders as he took a break from fixing the roof. He kindly invited my friends and me to call to his house later and I made sure we called before saying goodbye to El Muyo.
I disturbed him on the roof where he quickly climbed down and invited us to have some drinks and to see around the beautiful old house made of slate walls.
He quite literally welcomed us with open arms and showed us inside the house and then demonstrated an old pianola which is a self-playing piano probably a century old. With rolls of paper with perforated holes similar to the raised bumps used in braille, Raul loaded the roll of sheet music like you might line up paper on a typewriter.
I was reminded of the lyrics to Billy Joel's Piano Man,
"Sing us a song you're the piano man, sing us a song tonight,
well we're all in the mood for a melody, and you've got us feeling alright."
Raul impressed me with his openness and friendliness and his ability to bring an old piano back to life while working on an ancient roof. He admitted of course that there is much work in maintaining such houses and I can imagine that it is a difficult job juggling repairs while living outside of Spain.
There isn't much life in El Muyo and I am sure many of the residents live in Madrid and only stay at the weekend or during the summer. During the winter months, there is a ski slope nearby and I am sure El Muyo is very cold when the snow comes down.
The old houses are beautiful and my friend's house actually had a room with shutters but no glass.
Music must have been magic in El Muyo long ago as I imagine village life must have been very tough by modern standards and I was surprised to find a pianola in someone's house. I had helped my friend Carlos to bring some furniture to the village from Madrid, as well as a CD player and a gramophone.
The music continues in El Muyo as an echo to the past as we focus on SoundCloud and Instagram.
Piano Man by Billy Joel
It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Making love to his tonic and gin
He says, "Son can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet
And I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes."
Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feeling alright
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there's someplace that he'd rather be
He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me."
As a smile ran away from his face
"Well, I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place."
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talking with Davy, who's still in the Navy
And probably will be for life
And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes they're sharing a drink they call "Loneliness"
But it's better than drinking alone
Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feeling alright
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been coming to see
To forget about life for a while
And the piano it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, "Man, what are you doing here?"
Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feeling alright
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