As the saying goes, do not judge a book by its cover.
Obviously, the same goes for all the people we meet in life. We haven’t walked a mile in their shoes or lived a day in their lives, and we don’t know the battles they’ve fought. Beneath those struggles lies tremendous talent and a dauntless soul.
In a video upload by Jonny Walker in his YouTube account, he went out busking in Leeds on New Year’s Eve when he was asked by a homeless man in a wheelchair if the latter could sing with him.
#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/kpoK3RpQ5l
— Jonny Walker (@JonnySongs) February 11, 2017
As a busker, he spent a lot of time on the streets and had seen this man many times over the years.
But what surprised him was that the homeless man was actually a singer. His name is Bernard Davey. With Bernard as vocals and Jonny manning the guitar, together they performed an amazing improvised version of “Summertime.”
Bernard had the crowd in awe with his first word, and the street filled with cheers— that’s how powerful his voice is!
Despite his age and condition, the man still knows how to woo the people with his singing.
The timbre of his voice is breathy but thick, and he spices things up with adlibs to keep the crowd entertained.
The whole time, Jonny matches his singing with the mellow tune of his guitar.
Each pluck and strum of the strings is like a lullaby, soothing enough to put you to sleep. They make the ambiance more chilly and relaxed. In the latter part of the video, the song picks up the tempo and complements the event of the day!
Jonny described his spontaneous street jamming with Bernard as “soul-affirming and an enriching experience.” For him, it summed up everything he loved about street culture.
As this video shows, you can meet many people on the streets.
They are full of wonderful surprises and stories, and you can even find a story similar to your own.
Jonny hopes that Bernard’s amazing improvised version of “Summertime” will help people remember not to judge anybody they see according to their appearances or condition, but to look beyond the surface and find the person underneath.
As this proves, talent knows no social status, age or gender. Anyone can be talented, whether they are born with it or acquired in life.
Brian “Bernard” Davey, known as The Belfast Child in a nod to his home city, has once been a successful singer on the Irish and folk scene.
Battling poor health, alcohol problems and homelessness throughout his life, Bernard was a well-known character in the West Yorkshire city—both for his singing abilities and his commitment to the Irish community.
Bernard found himself treading a path of poor mental and physical health, propped up by alcohol and displacing himself from society.
Often with nowhere to turn, he had been under the care of Leeds Irish Health and Homes. Ironically, the Irishman had been one of the protagonists in forming the organization in the early 1990s when he was in a better state of health. Unfortunately, he passed away before Christmas of 2016 after years of battling.
@RedHotWldBuffet back at Red Hot Buffet for another Friday night gig in #leeds be good to see you down here! pic.twitter.com/6buTDbqrnR
— Jonny Walker (@JonnySongs) June 20, 2014
On the other hand, the activist busker Jonny Walker, founder of Keep Streets Live Campaign, who busked and fought similar battles across the country, was found hanging at his Leeds home on March 12, 2018.
For his part, he died in Leeds General Hospital two days later. Even so, both of them had incredible voices and immense talents which live on through this video.
Watch the full thing in the link below:
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