Some men don’t say much.
Don Williams sang instead.
Nicknamed “The Gentle Giant,” Don Williams comforted millions with his calm, warm voice. But for Joy, his wife of many decades, he was quiet, reserved, and rarely expressed his deepest feelings in words.
A Secret Inside the Guitar
After Don’s passing in 2017, Joy was cleaning out his old acoustic guitar when something caught her eye. Inside the body of the instrument, tucked between loose strings, was a folded letter. On the envelope, it read: “For Joy – when the music stops.”
No Stage, Just Love
The letter described nights on the porch when Don tried to write lyrics but kept thinking of her instead. “I never had the words,” he wrote, “but you were always my favorite song. I just never recorded it.”
No audience. No applause. Just a quiet goodbye in his own way.
The Song Without Sound
The letter has never been published. Joy said it was “the best song he ever wrote – without a melody.” That guitar now hangs beside a window overlooking their garden, where Don used to sit, silent, watching the morning light.