I rounded the corner, and there he was. Sitting on the steps, plucking out a tune that I am sure in his head sounded brilliant.

He didn’t see me nor anyone else. His focus was on some far off lullaby he languidly played as sat on the cold steps.

He had once been a famous guitarist, played with notable bands, he claimed he once accompanied the Beatles and hung his name and fame on that one.

He said he used to jam with Lennon. You remember the song, “Love me do”? That final; Love me do, he repeated all the time because he was in love with Alice Worker only she didn’t know it at the time.

So in between jam sessions, he’d muck around with the rift never thinking Lennon was listening, as they all had little ditties they played with and who would have known then that Lennon and his mates would amount to anything.

Years later when they became a name he was surprised to find his ‘Love me Do’ had become a song that sold a lot of copies.

He got nothing, no recognition and when he asked Lennon about it, Lennon pleaded ignorance and said it was a line he recalled from the past but didn’t know it was his.

He had no resources to do anything about it apart from hang on the belief that Love Me Do was something he thought up.

Nowadays he plays for himself, it’s what keeps the insane thoughts from overtaking his mind. What might have been had it not been for, and here the list was huge as he rattled them all the titles, to the point where you had to doubt the veracity of his memories.

He didn’t really give a rats arse if you believed him or not. It was his story, and he stuck to it like he wanted to believe because it gave him a sense of being someone and belonging.

A lot of his melodies were jamming, playing with chord combinations, variations on variations, sequences that gave him hope when it was required and other times sent him spiralling into melancholy.

Because he played for himself, it was incidental who might be listening. He never looked up, he didn’t acknowledge the polite applause, there was no coin box for you to throw in the odd spare change you might find as some offering of appreciation.

He asked for nothing and expected the same in return.

He was flamboyant in his dress. Always wore a tie, said it was a sign of respect and respectability, said people would think him a serious musician if he dressed appropriately. I think he believed his music had credibility and that was important to him.

After all, he had once jammed with John Lennon.

Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2018/07/26/tale-weaver-181-street-performers-26th-july/