My mother's family was quite gifted in making music; in the old days it was not for everybody to have a record player or even a radio. I think that is why people tried to make their own music, playing traditional songs or even creating things themselves. In my family the most popular instrument was the accordion and there were some great uncles who could play very well. They were always the first people to get invited for weddings, parties and such. Payment mostly consisted of free drinks.
In a lot of families this was the case and some of these accordion players became quite famous locally and sometimes even nationally, like the Jacksons, Las Estrellas, Schriebl & Hupperts and many more. In our family the band The Picos was the most important one. Every birthday would start with mother playing the 7 inch record "Partytime With The Picos", it was them playing the Dutch equivalent of Happy Birthday, called "We Wish You a Long Life". Becoming older we would feel a bit embarrassed when that music would sound really loudly through the house and imagined that the whole neighbourhood would witness this.
My parents never knew that the title of the record in the 60's would become a code for the children to warn each other when there were quarrells between my parents or with one or more of the children. If there were harsh words because my eldest sister would want to go out in her miniskirt or I refused to get a haircut or would play my beat music a bit too loudly, the warning would go out to me or my sisters coming home.
"Don't go in! It's Partytime With The Picos!"
We would stay outdoors until things would become quiet again.
The Birthday ritual remained for decades until the record got a scratch. How this happened, or who was the culprit for causing it was never discovered. In the meantime more and more of the children left the parental house and some moved to other countries.
It was my mother who took the initiative to give new musical congratulations. Both my parents could play the harmonica - nicknamed the poor people's accordion - very well.
So now we children would get a very early phonecall with my parents playing on their harmonicas the tune "We Wish You a Long Life".
They both had a Hohner, the Rolls Royce of harmonicas. My mother would play lead and Father would play the harmonies. It sounded quite good, certainly when you consider their age.
The first one who could not play anymore was Father, he didn't have the breath anymore, but Mother played on and on.
Father died and it was only her who would phone and give the little concert; she continued doing this almost to her last day when she was already in her nineties.
Yet sometimes in dreams I can still hear The Picos playing "We Wish You a Long Life".
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