Thanks Paul. Some songs, the great ones, appear to be so organic, so natural, it's like someone fed it one beautiful, exotic chord and then it just took over and wrote itself. It also shows how good music will absolutely stand the test of time (no matter what the genre').

I've gotten used to people that I knew as a child dying, but to have FOUR die in such a short time span was kind of unsettling. One was the sister of my best friend in high school and was my high school prom date. She was drop-dead gorgeous and a beautiful soul as well. Unfortunately, we went off to different colleges and that was the end of that.

I like your idea of practicing/playing pretty melodies or phrases in different keys; if you're like me (and because of fingering), you'll probably play it slightly different in different keys. Also, some songs just sound better in certain keys (and not always the key it was written in). Anyhow, I'm glad to see so many people here that still enjoy great songs.

Another observation; most good tunes like this are not that complicated or hard to play. Probably a message there for aspiring songwriters.

chas