. . .has got to rank as one of the saddest songs I’ve ever heard. Lyrics here. For anyone living in a cave and not familiar with the artist, Campbell is in the last stages of Alzheimer’s. When he was diagnosed three years ago, he asked that a documentary be made of what he was going to go through, and promptly booked a farewell tour to help educate the public before the disease could fully claim his memory. It’s a sad ending for such a talented musician.
Having seen my dad go through accelerated dementia until he died last year, this song hit me hard. Even though it was not Alzheimer’s but advanced Parkinson’s. Thanks for posting.
For anyone who didn’t see it, there was a piece about Campbell the other night on the NBC evening news. He’s now at a stage where he usually doesn’t recognize friends or family members, and almost never speaks.
But… for some reason, occasionally, he can still pick up his guitar and play it.
Different kind of memory (procedural vs retrospective).
In a very poignant scene in the documentary, Campbell falters on the words for “Galveston”, and the audience fills it in for him. I’m eager to see it when it’s released this year. Apparently some production company is suing him for breach of contract. :rolleyes:
Apparently not unknown among musicians with the condition. My family has known both a flutist and a bagpiper who were able to continue playing their instruments past the point they could no longer speak intelligibly.
As noted, there are different types of memory.