William Overington

We are in a small vegan café. There is the chatter and clatter of people dining. We notice a poster on the wall. The text is black on a lemon yellow background. The heading is in a large bold script. The rest of the text is smaller. "Sing for your supper? Free evening meal of your choice for singing in this restaurant. Apply to the manager. Songs must be either your own copyright or the copyright of a friend and used with permission or spangleware. Spangleware is where a work is copyright yet can be performed publicly free of royalty, yet a royalty is payable if the song is recorded." A waiter delivers some meals to some of the customers. The door opens and a woman enters from outside. She wears a beige coat over a blue trouser suit and carries a small suitcase. No one really notices her. She walks to the back of the restaurant and disappears through an archway. We continue to observe life in the café. After a while we notice the manager of the café emerge from the archway and walk towards a small dinner gong that is on a table against the wall. He strikes the gong several times in rapid succession. It is not loud, yet is sufficient to attract the attention of the diners, who become quiet and focus on the archway. The manager sits down on a chair conveniently to the side of the table away from the archway and, from being the centre of attention when he struck the gong, now almost melts into the background. The singer, the woman we observed entering earlier, now appears in the archway. She wears a long evening dress with a silvery metallic sheen. There is no music, there is no special lighting. She sings unaccompanied, slowly, holding some syllables.

Small and secluded
Friendly and fine
Is a quiet vegan café
Where flavours entwine
Arriving discreetly
I quietly prepare
Now I take to the stage
Where my song gilds the air
I entertain the patrons
Eating their food
My slow blues singing
Gives a peaceful mood
With spangleware lyrics
Which I sing for free
I dream of recording
Songs for a CD
My dream is elusive
Yet maybe one day
I'll be recorded
Then royalties I'll pay
Yet in the meantime
Life must proceed
The eating of food
An everyday need
This stylish café
Where I use my voice
Allows me a meal
Of my own choice
Maybe vegetable hotpot
With oven chips and rice
A cup of apple juice
Not from concentrate is nice
So I sing for my supper
What can I lose?
With the stylish, the peaceful
The spangleware blues
The stylish, the peaceful
The spangleware blues

There is applause.

There are cries of "more!".

She sings again.

Maybe vegetable hotpot
With oven chips and rice
A cup of apple juice
Not from concentrate is nice
So I sing for my supper
What can I lose?
With the stylish, the peaceful
The spangleware blues
The stylish, the peaceful
The spangleware blues

There is more applause. She turns and disappears through the archway.

People continue to eat their meals. We are but observers and gradually the café disappears into the distance. Later that evening another singer will sing. By then she will have enjoyed her meal and will be but one of the audience in the little café.

Creative setting and song written in June and July 1999 by William Overington

Copyright 1999 William Overington