This past week, after together singing “Yesterday” by one Paul McCartney, a man looked over at me and said, “This has been a lifelong dream.”

He was from Ghana and his little girl was in his lap as he sang, bright-eyes filled with wonder. What we must have looked like to her, two guys in bright satin pink and green coats with shiny gold buttons and dangling epaulets. We even picked up a couple of portable lights so we looked even brighter in the encroaching darkness of dusk in Central Park.

Then, last Friday, as Gavin Gold and I conducted our usual busy subway “Beatles Friday at Station 103,” a well dressed, elegant woman asked if we knew “Yesterday.” As we began to play and sing it, she went into a little trance and then tears began to stream down her eyes. Who knows where she went, who she was with or what year it was?

Watch this video of one of their Central Park singalongs.

Again, at the park, after we sang “Imagine” all circled around the Imagine mosaic, a man with a wife and two kids, thanked me for saying how, when we’re connected together even for just five minutes, we realize that we can fulfill the promise of a world with no war, no hunger, no labels,  by just being humans standing together singing.

When I trained with the MLK Foundation during our March on Lynchburg, I learned that to participate in the war is to extend and exacerbate the war. I realize how I’m bringing that training to bear on one of the most iconic landmarks in the world.

If not there, where?

I began to appreciate all this when I took this past August off to be with family down in Texas. My family has members of all stripes from deep red MAGA to wild-eyed lefties (and back again).

When I got back in September, the one thing I wanted to get back to was singing The Beatles songs. I wrote about one day where I literally had to sing for 7 1/2 hours. It was the greatest day of my life.

And now I realize why.  Because I (with Gavin) are living out a dream of non-violent resistance. What are we resisting? We are resisting being recruited into the culture war. Refusing to participate in war is the first step to ending war. And it starts right in your heart.

In these past few weeks, we have been seeing more and more the results of the violent mindset being created, for profit, by the media who knows that anger sells. And then they look us right in the eye and ask us what could possibly be the cause of it all.

I haven’t written a song in two months. I can’t. I’m frozen thinking maybe sometimes it’s better to shut up.

Jim asked me why I didn’t send a newsletter last week. (Did you miss me?)

I said, “Because I don’t have anything to say.”

I guess this week I do have something to say because I just said it.

All we are saying is give peace a chance

All you need is love

Sounds old fashioned, those words. But connected to the music, with a park full of people singing along?

In the end, the love you take

Is equal to the love you make

STEVE IN PERSON:

This next Saturday, I’ll be playing piano for the brilliant force of nature that is Corina. We’ll be doing an acoustic version of her latest, incredibly powerful album “Spanglish.”

https://shows.donttellmamanyc.com/9153-corina-spanglish-unplugged-new-york-city-9-27-25

October 28: I’ll be singing a couple songs at a terrific event here in NYC on October 28 called “The Power of Women’s Voices” at the Triad Theatre, sponsored by The Three Tomatoes Book Publishing. Link here: https://www.thethreetomatoes.com/power.

December 9th: Urban Stages with Blake Zolfo, our old pal Bill Goffi and new pal Brian Kritsky, plus the Rebel Nerds! It’s gonna be great.

NEW SONG: 43rd Street Fair featuring footage I shot on September 13.

You are free to stream the songs below but purchasing them is the best way to support independent artists such as myself. Or if you have the means, you can make a small donation through PayPal or Venmo using my email address: steveshack@gmail.com.

And please share this with friends!

[This is the hand-crafted, no-AI, non-bot newsletter of Steve Schalchlin. If you wish to be removed from the list, send me an email. If someone sent you this and you want to be added, write me at steveshack@gmail.com]

Steve Schalchlin

Living in the Bonus Round

Spotify Links

2024 Songs https://tinyurl.com/3su9t85m

Love Songs by Steve Schalchlin https://tinyurl.com/stevelovesongs

Personal Songs by Steve Schalchlin https://tinyurl.com/stevepersonal

Comic/Humor Songs by Steve Schalchlin https://tinyurl.com/stevehumor

Inspirational Songs by Steve Schalchlin https://tinyurl.com/steveinspire

Meditation Music by Steve Schalchlin https://tinyurl.com/stevemeditate

Political Songs by Steve Schalchlin https://tinyurl.com/stevepolitics

Rebel Nerd Songs – lyrics by Steve Schalchlin

https://tinyurl.com/steverebelnerd