Lightening the Camino with Song
Lightening the Camino with Song
by Tom Friesen | London, Ontario, Canada
The song “How Can I Keep From Singing” often goes through my mind when I am on the Camino, either as a pilgrim or a hospitalero. When the Way gets difficult due to weather, terrain, or tiredness, I find myself singing to lift my spirits and lighten the load. Indeed, when I find myself breaking into song, I recognize the need to motivate myself to keep going or express the elation that I feel to be in a wonderful place with the freedom to walk at my own pace and express myself.
In the albergue, I treasure opportunities to share music and song with my fellow pilgrims or to inject music into the day of the pilgrims when I give my yearly service as a hospitalero. I will sing them awake in the morning. “Morning Has Broken” and “What a Wonderful World” are two of my English favourites. Sometimes I sing them out the door in the morning. I hope that putting songs in their minds will lighten their load.
As pilgrims arrive, there is often music playing in the background. We tell them that the tradition in the albergue is to sing after dinner and to bring a song from their country to share if they wish. Following the meal and after thanking the cooks, I facilitate singing by telling the pilgrims that there is an English expression “Sing for your Supper” (Cantad para Cenar) and inviting them to join in Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” with extra opportunities to sing the chorus. At the end, I say, “That is a song from my country. Do you have a song from your country to share with us?”
There are often wonderful chances to hear songs from other countries and in other languages. I love the look on pilgrim faces as they hear songs from people and places they would not expect. Koreans, once you get them singing, can often delight their fellow pilgrims. One tip to really engage these karaoke frequenters is to hand them an ersatz microphone (a water bottle or a salt or pepper shaker will suffice).
The lightened atmosphere in an albergue after an evening of song has led some pilgrims to tell me later it was their favourite night on the Camino.
The Camino always needs more hospitaleros. If you are interested in volunteering, get more info on our Hospitalero page and check out previous Camino volunteer stories in La Concha.