There it came on the radio,
That piece of music,
It brought tears to my eyes,
As it does whenever I hear it,
Hear it being played by Jacqueline.
The Elgar Cello Concerto
Being played by her is so sublime
That it stops me,
Stops me to make me listen,
And listen I do, so intensely.
Jacqueline took the world by storm,
Her playing was so unique.
She took cello playing way up,
Way up to another level
Which bewitched so many
In the way she played,
It had never been heard,
Never been heard played so well.
And then it happened,
Her fingers stopped moving
As multiple sclerosis took her,
And at twenty eight years old she stopped,
Stopped creating this wonderful sound.
Her life lasted fourteen more years
And she was taken from our world
To that place where music never stops.
But that piece of music by Elgar
Will always bring her back,
Bring her back to me,
As I listened to it on her birthday.
Jacqueline du Pre - 26 January 1945 – 19 October 1987