A video of a busker in Dublin, Ireland singing “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” to a young boy with autism is going viral because it’s just so darn adorable. The video was filmed over a year ago by Terence Power, the co-host of the popular “Talking Bollox Podcast.”
It was filmed before face masks were required, so you can see the boy’s beautiful reaction to the song.
Power uploaded it to TikTok because he had just joined the platform and had no idea the number of lives it would touch. “The support on it is unbelievable. I posted it on my Instagram a while back and on Facebook and the support then was amazing,” he told Dublin Live.
“But I recently made TikTok and said I’d share it on that and I’m so glad I did now!” he continued.
The video stars Power’s younger brother, seven-year-old Edward Gilligan, who has non-verbal autism.
Irish street performer sings ‘You’ve Got a Friend In Me’ to put at ease an autistic child😍
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The busker in the video is Mick McLoughlin, a regular performer on the streets of Dublin. He’s also blown away by how people have responded to the video.
“The reaction to this video has blown my mind,” he said according to Dublin Live. “Edward is my pal and always will be. He is such an amazing kid and couldn’t believe I saw him that day on the Luas.”
The Luas is a light-rail system that runs through Dublin.
McLoughlin and Edward have met many times on the train and the viral moment was a reunion of sorts.
“I didn’t do this to get attention I did it because Edward is my pal and I hadn’t seen him I ages and seen him on the Luas I couldn’t not sing to my pal,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
“He sings to my brother any time he sees him in town,” Power said.
The video is adorable because of the way McLoughlin and the boy interact while he’s singing the song. Edward can hardly contain his joy, as he laughs at McLoughlin’s spirited rendition of the Disney classic.
Even though Edward can’t express himself verbally, you can tell exactly how he’s feeling by hearing his laughter and seeing the big smile on his face. The video is a perfect way to show why people call music “the universal language.”
“You’ve Got a Friend in Me” is the perfect song for two friends reuniting who haven’t seen each other in a while. What seven-year-old kid hasn’t seen “Toy Story” a hundred times?
The song was written by Randy Newman for the first “Toy Story” film in 1995. The song would go on to become a major musical theme in the film’s three sequels.
McLoughlan has a YouTube channel where you can hear him sing a mix of traditional Irish songs. He also does a fantastic version of John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
imagine John Lennon cover by Mick mc loughlin #mickthebusker
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