The man got on the subway with a guitar at Chambers Street. He sat and began the introduction. But he didn’t say anything about his situation. There was no preface of “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sorry to bother you…”
Instead, he said, “This song is for the fine woman in the big hat.” He began to sing “My Girl.” He wasn’t the best singer, but he was hamming it up and his guitar kept up with his mouth. “Yeah, this song is for the lady in the tan coat with the big hat. She talkin’ like she don’t hear me, but I know she do. She’s my girl.”
Everyone looked for the one serenaded. She was standing by the door, trying to appear stern. The women she was with couldn’t help smiling. They were about the man’s age. Maybe they all knew each other.
“My next song is dedicated to the girl next to the lady with all the hair,” he explained. I immediately knew who he meant, or knew the woman sitting next to her. Everyone’s eyes moved from the cloud of hair to the slim young girl next to her.
The man began to sing, “Nobody wanna see us to-geeeth-er… And that’s cause she younger than eighteen.”
Laughter rang off the metal bars and poles.
“C’mon, everybody sing! Even the white people,” he encouraged us.
Then the man sang “Let’s Get it On,” but changed the words to “There’s nothin’ wrong with givin’ me money, no no no no no.” His words faded into some background information. “Ladies and gentlemen, anything you can spare. I accept food stamps, checks, cash, college credits, and iPods. Anything to help me out, ’cause I lost my job at Lehman Brothers.”
Everyone chuckled and shook their heads.
“Seriously, though, I got three kids and they all need Timberlands. Hey! I’ll give five dollars to anyone who can tell me who I’m actin’ like.”
The man paused dramatically, everyone watched and listened. He closed his eyes and began singing “Georgia…”
“Ray Charles!” An elderly woman yelled suddenly.
“Actually, ma’am,” the man winked. “That was me actin’ like Jamie Foxx actin’ like Ray Charles.”
The train stopped at Penn Station, and he left with about half the audience. He may have made $5.
He made my night.
