What would you do if a street busker sang you a song, just to brighten your day?
Well, one 7-year-old boy with autism was lucky enough to explore that answer when he found himself on the receiving end of Mick McLoughlin’s heartfelt “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” serenade.
And thanks to TikTok, we get to see the sweetest reaction ever caught on camera!
Mick is a street busker in Dublin, Ireland who can often be found riding the Luas, which is Ireland’s mass transit above-ground version of London’s Underground or NYC’s Subway.
The tram/light rail system sees lots of different people hop on and off as it winds through the heart of the city.
However, none were as interesting as the interaction between Mick and 7-year-old Edward Gilligan that day.
Edward’s big brother and co-host of the “Talking Bollox Podcast,” Terence Power, said that Mick regularly performs for his little sibling, who has non-verbal autism.
He told Dublin Live that Mick:
“…sings to my brother any time he sees him in town.”
This time around when the busker whipped out his guitar and started singing, Edward decided to film the encounter.
At the start of the video, we can see the cute, curly-haired redhead smile eagerly and sway back and forth in his seat as Mick belts out the well-known tune.
Edward may not be able to express himself verbally, bis his bright smile and body language made one thing very clear.
He was super excited to have his own private singer on the Luas that day!
He had a friend, indeed.
You might notice that no one is wearing any face masks in the video, but don’t fret! Terance made the video before facemasks became mandatory.
He only just recently got around to uploading the clip to TikTok, and made it a point to mention that all of this happened before the pandemic got out of hand.
After Terence posted the special video to his social media accounts, he was touched by the immense support it received.
“The support on it is unbelievable. I posted it on my Instagram a while back and on Facebook and the support then was amazing.”
But, it wasn’t until Terence created an account on TikTok that the video finally took off and went viral.
“But I recently made TikTok and said I’d share it on that and I’m so glad I did now!”
Mick was also surprised by everyone’s reaction and said in a Facebook post that it has “blown his mind” that the clip had gone viral on both TikTok and Reddit.
He also mentioned that:
“Edward is my pal and always will be. He is such an amazing kid and couldn’t believe I saw him that day on the Luas. I see the happiness every time I see him coming up town and that’s what I miss – seeing him coming.”
Naturally, Mick’s popularity has grown tenfold now that everyone knows what an amazingly nice bloke he is.
Oh yeah, and he has a pretty decent singing voice too! If you’re as lucky as Edward, you might even come across Mick performing on the streets of Dublin one day.
This man is truly a first-class act.
Be sure to check out the video below to see the sweetest serenade of the century!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
@terencepower_ Busker singing to my little brother who has autism, would bring a tear to a glass eye❤️😢 #fyp #4upage
