The Grandfather Singer History

When I discovered that my grandfather was a soldier, I was very proud. The only time I saw him, was in a faded picture. He looked great, seated on a horse in his uniform, with a big feather in his hat. He was obviously a hero, or at least he became one to me. When the other kids spoke of their grandfathers, I would conjure up stories of mine, riding his stallion into battle, guns blazing all around, bombs exploding. A marvellous scene to a young boy! None of this was true, except that he was a soldier on a horse. The rest came from my imagination, but it made me very happy to think that I actually had a grandfather to guide me.As a child, I had a vivid sense for creating fairy stories around my activities. When we lived in Mackay in Queensland, I would invite the other kids to come play in my aeroplane in my back yard. The aeroplane was actually a plum tree, which I climbed as far as I could go. It was full of very interesting knobs and levers for shooting down the opposition at close range.Later in life I realised that it was in that tree that I was developing a keen sense of imagination, which came in very handy when I became a singer and writer in later years. I had two children and my daughter had three. It was on her lounge room floor that I began to appreciate the value of being a grandfather. When all else in my business life was going badly, I would go lie on her carpet. In no time, three young people would climb all over me, and nothing else in the world seemed to matter.

I derived such an amount of pleasure from these young people, that when I found out that my friends, Chrissy and Mia had lost both their grandfathers, I applied in writing to replace them. I was accepted for the job, so now I have five grandchildren of my own and I am proud. Adelina told me that her best memories of her Grandfather were listening to his stories and songs as he drove around the country. All the grandchildren piled into his battered old car, him with his tie loosened, singing songs with beautiful melodies about animals going to school and dancing toys. She loved that time and used to sing me the funny songs, which I learned from her.

So, what use is a grandfather to a child?
Number one: I think he must not be a disciplinarian. That is the job for the parents. A grandfather is a place of security. He is a place you can crawl into when all else around you fails. Rather like crawling into bed and pulling the blankets over your head, hoping the world will go away outside. A grandfather must have a sense of fun at all times, enough to make you laugh. A grandfather is a source of sound advice and you should listen when he speaks to you. He has lived a lot longer than you and, in life as in all things, time and experience counts. He can tell you how to handle the problem people at school. Mostly he can show you how to hold the bat correctly, or how to bowl a leg break.He is a place to share a secret that only you and he know. He has a wink and a nod, which only you and he understand. Above all, he is your very best friend at all times.

Here is the point of all this. If you have a grandfather you are very lucky. If you have two you have a rare and cherish able gift. I have gathered my own and other's memories and fantasies from our grandfathers, my experience as a grandfather, my activity as a musician, a writer and a singer, and I became the Grandfather Singer.

The Grandfather Singer is also the brainchild of Dr. Adelina Arredondo, a Mexican expert in sociology, culture and education. It began as a project to translate to English the songs of Cri-Cri (Francisco Gabilondo Soler), a famous composer and singer of children songs in the Spanish Speaking world. For my first project, like the Grand Father Singer, I have had the excellent assistance of Pels and Margareta from London, and John Zielman from Amsterdam.

If you have a grandfather, or you do not have one at all, let me try to add something more to your life. In the pages of the book and the songs let me be a mentor, a counsellor, your entertainer and above all your friend.

In future my job will be to select and write for you the best songs and stories possible, so that our friendship will continue forever.

Share my music and stories with your parents, grandparents, children or grandchildren, and we will make the world a better place because we are in it together.

KPR the GFS