…I nervously clutch my guitar as I stand in front of the high school band class…
…
What did I get myself into?!
Every eye is on me…
What am I going to do NOW??
Then I hear some of the students saying,
“You should play it for the school!”
…
“Wait…
Right now?...
For the whole school??...”
…
—
...Two decades ago...
In 2001, the year after I graduated from college, I got a job as a substitute teacher in the Colorado Springs public schools.
I went all over the city…
Teaching all grade levels (Elementary, Middle, and High school)...
And teaching many subjects, (English, Spanish, Art, Math, Science, etc.)
This particular Friday morning, (February 8, 2002 to be exact!), I was assigned to Palmer High School to cover for the band teacher, named Mr. Reed.
Yeah…true story!
So when I walked in to the school and went to the front office I said,
“Good morning, I’m Mr Reed…and, uh, I’m here for…Mr. Reed…”
The secretary, familiar with the routine…
(and apparently completely oblivious to the hilarious irony…)
…just smiles and hands me a name badge and the sub folder.
“Here you go!”
“The band room is down the hall and then to the left!” she points.
…
Once to the room I start my morning ritual to get ready for a new class.
—
…I sit the sub folder and my papers on the large wooden director's music stand…
…I walk over to the black board…
…I select a fresh long piece of chalk…
…And in big, bold letters, I write my name on the board…
(Shouldn't be too hard for the kids to remember!)
…I ceremoniously sit the chalk back on the tray, feeling accomplished…
…I dust off my fingers…
…Then I walk over to my guitar, open the case and start tuning it up.
—
Yeah, let me explain about the guitar…
See, whenever I was a guest (substitute) teacher, I would always bring my guitar with me to the class I was covering.
It was kind of like my security blanket…
Something to hold on to if I started feeling overwhelmed, inadequate or afraid.
And it was a pretty good gimmick to bribe the students with…
“If you’re gooood…,” I would say, “mayyybe at the end of class… I’ll sing you a song!”
This usually worked out well enough to keep the students respectful and on task.
So that was my plan…
(Okay, back to the story…)
—
The bell rings and the students start filing in.
I receive the usual nonchalant greetings (typical of high schoolers).
(At the elementary level, the students usually gasp and scream, “AH! Where’s Miss So-and-So??!”...
And at the middle school level, the students would glance over at me and then proceed to huddle up, whispering suspiciously, as they develop their nefarious schemes for substitute teacher harassment…)
One student, seeing my instrument, says,
“Oh, you play guitar?”
“Yes, I do…”
I smile.
Should I give my, “If you're gooood…” speech now?
Class hasn’t started yet but interest is already starting to build around my guitar.
“Can you play us a song?” another student asks.
“Uh… sure…
“Well…
“Let’s get started first and then…we’ll see… okay?”
The bell rings.
I start my canned and rehearsed substitute teacher introduction.
“Good morning…” I say, (in my half-a-tone-lower, “authoritarian” voice.)
“My name is Mr. Reed and I’m here today for Mr. Reed…”
I hear a few giggles.
Good, they’re awake…
Then a very polite, yet impatient girl raises her hand, interrupting me.
I pause and motion for her to speak.
“Will you play us a song??” she asks.
Hey! Tough crowd!
What can I do?
“Well, okay, sure! I’ll play you a song…”
Hey, I wasn’t really ready for this.
Playing a song was my back up plan just in case the class started to get a bit fidgety, or bored, or whatever.
And I didn’t get to finish my whole “bribery” offer speech to them, (“If you’re gooood…then mayyyybe…I’ll sing you a song at the end of class!”)
But they’re eager to hear a song.
And hey, it is a music class, right!?
…
“Ummm…what should I sing a song about?”, I ask, trying to buy myself some time…
“Sing a song about FRIDAY!!” one student blurted out, as if on cue…
“Hmmm…” I say slowly,
“Friiidaaay…
“Yesss…
“Okaaay…”
…
–
Now, just to reassure you, I was NOT totally freaking out about coming up with a song.
See, over the prior year or so I had been practicing making up songs on the spot.
And I was getting pretty good at it!
So…
–
I clear my throat…
Hum a bit…
I put my capo on the 2nd fret…
Hum a bit more…
“Hmmm…
Yes…
♫♫
Mmmm… It’s Friday…
♫♫
The last day of the week…”
(Just enough instrumental space between phrases to allow my brain time to think up the next line…
…hopefully rhyming…)
“It’s not time to stress no more…
Time to take it easy…”
(Whoops, so much for rhyming…)
Monday is long since gone…
Wednesday is a memory…
(Quick! Think of a hook!...)
It’s Fridaaaay….
Enjoy your Fridaaay…
…
(Yes, ‘Friday’ rhymes with ‘Friday’...Good!
Now, for a second verse…
…uhh..)
♫♫
The weekend has come…
Don’t that make you glad?
(Strum and smile BIG… Theatrics…!)
And it don’t matter no more if your
Week was good or bad!...
(There we go!
Now we’re rhyming…!
Now a quick copy and paste for the pre-hook…)
…
Monday is long since gone…
Wednesday is a memory…
…
(Aaaaand… the Hook:...)
It’s Friday…
Enjoy Your Friday…
♫♫
(What’s next?...Think of a line…Think of a line!…
3rd verse?
Bridge?
Uh…. Song form…? V C V C B C C…?)
How about an…
INSTRUMENTAL BRIDGE!
♫♫ ♫♫ ♫♫ ♫♫!
(BOOM! No need for lyrics…
It’s still too early in the morning for all this…)
Woo Hoo!!
♫♫ ♫♫
(Annnnd back to the hook!…)
…
It’s Friday…
Enjoy Your Friday…
♫♫
(Okay, what’s next??...Ummm…
I’ll just end it…)
Thank God it’s Friiiidaaaay…
DING!
♫♫
(That’s it!
Good job!)
…
I look up from my guitar.
There is an awkward silence…
…
And then…
…
The class EXPLODES into thunderous applause!
A standing ovation!
Whew!!
Then I hear some of the students saying,
“Mr. Reed! You should play it for the school!”
…
…
“Wait…
What?...
Right now?...
For the whole school??...”
…
“How?
I'm just a substitute teacher…
I mean…
Serious??”
…
(Did I say all that out loud?)
…
“YES! They’ll love it!”, the students shout.
“Just go to the front office and tell them you want to sing a song for the school!”
…
Ooookaaay…
So, after some encouragement from the students, I make my way back to the front office.
They recognize me.
“Hi, I’m Mr. Reed, I’m here for the band teacher, Mr. Reed, and, uh, the students said I should sing this song for the school…”
It was just in time for the morning announcements, which are read over the ‘intercom’ every day by one of the school secretaries.
DOOOT!!
“Please pardon the interruption…
…It’s time for your morning announcements…
Please stand for the pledge of allegiance…”
I quickly fumble to sit my guitar and notepad down and then place my hand over my heart as we all face the small American flag there in the office.
Then all together we chant…
“I pledge allegiance…
…
…
…with liberty and justice for all.”
There is a brief pause as the secretary looks at me and smiles reassuringly.
She announces: “We have a special guest today who is going to sing a song for you. This is Mr. Reed!”
Then she sits the intercom mic in front of me and holds down the “speak” button.
It's the moment of truth!
“Ah-hm”
I clear my throat…
And I begin…
“Good morning. This is a song I wrote, uh, a few minutes ago…
It’s called, 'Enjoy Your Friday’.”
♫♫
…
It's Friday…”
(And so on…)
–
“Enjoy Your Friday” (or “The Friday Song”, as my students liked to call it), went on to be quite popular.
I would sing it, at least once, every Friday at whatever school I was a guest at.
Then I sang it every Friday at Horace Mann Middle School where I taught Vocal Music full time for 7 years.
The song has now been heard by thousands of people all over the world (probably…)
And now you know the story behind it!
Here is the link to listen to it one more time!
Joseph E. Reed
Comments