Heart & Soul

Writing On The Dock Of The Bay

Returning on foot from pancakes at the Lighthouse, we find two people playing Heart & Soul on a waterfront piano, and an already beautiful morning turns magical. Laughter and music fill the air as we delight in the spontaneous performance of these players, who are out for a walk themselves. Later, I pay google a visit and discover: The Larry Clinton Orchestra, Heart and Soul, 1938. We have a neighbor on another dock by that name. I ask him, "Was that your dad?"  Yes, he replies. "The story goes that my father visited Hoagy Carmichael’s office and was riffling through his files of unfinished songs when he found Heart & Soul. He was intrigued, but Carmichael protested, 'Oh, that?  That’s just been lying around.  You don’t want to record that!'  Fortunately for him, and for piano students forever after, Pop went ahead."

And fortunate for us. Out for a walk, we stumbled across Heart & Soul, and found magic afloat in the air.