On Sunday, January 25th, 2009, a concert was held in Dalton Brill’s honor at the Virginia Brewing Company, in Winchester, VA. Chris Henry organized the show. The Winchester star did a nice story on the event.
One of Murphy’s former students, Luke Johnson, is mentioned in the article. He posted the text of the song he wrote for Dalton on his MySpace page. But, luckily, he’s also given us permission to post them here:
His Mark
He called me Luke the drifter
But he’s the one, keeps on driftin’ back to me
In my dreams, I see you there, Doin’ more than just cuttin’ hair
He’s tearin’ up an “Ol’ Joe Clark”, Dalton sure left his mark
CH: Those Wensday night sessions Had my foot tappin’ so fast
I was sore in the morning, God I love that good old’ Bluegrass
You lift my spirit so high,
This music inside me ain’t never gonna die
With the rolling of his fingers, that snap filled the air
Smiles on everyone’s faces, so hard for them to stay in their chair
Inside our souls are hootin and hollerin, Dancing a jig here and there.
That Shenandoah sound won’t be the same
With those Apple Blossoms bloomin, I can hear that banjo roll and ring
Walking down the midway, Just shocks my brain
She used to pay you to pick, Because her fiddle squeaked so bad
That Orange Blossom Special was all that we had
Running cross the finish line, gallopin’ 4/4 time
Don’t pinch me I ain’t dreamin’, He’s alive with us today
Standing in a shadow grin’ in, While we pick and play
He told me to tell you, Let the grass grow high,
Better dry your eyes, and nothing ever dies anyway