Willie Virginia Purcell Roberts: piano
Standing on the Promises
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
The Royal Telephone
Blessed Jesus Hold My Hand
If We Never Meet Again This Side of Heaven
There was an elderly widow named Mrs. Ruth Anderson who lived a couple of houses up the street from my parents. She boldly fought the ravages of the years, but finally capitulated and moved to a nursing home. She gave her ornate upright piano to my mother. My mother had learned the rudiments of old style church piano from her own mother, and although she hadn't played in decades, she acquired a shape-note hymn book and began to play regularly. On an unknown date in the early 1980s, I bade her play a few songs into a tape recorder, and they are presented here. Arthritis, osteoporosis and cataracts eventually brought Mother's playing days to an end, and she gave the piano to my wife in 1991. It reposes in our dining room, and on top of it, smiling sweetly, is Mother's picture.
