Written by
Duane Allman, a beautiful little instrumental from the Allman Brothers' 1972 album
Eat a Peach. Compared to the
Allman Brothers' typical
jams such as
Whipping Post, it is definitely "little" -- Martha weighs in at only 2 minutes, 9 seconds. Duane Allman accompanies
Dickey Betts on acoustic guitar, and
Berry Oakley plays
bass. The quiet, methodical theme is repeated two or three times, with slight variations each time. The bell-like sound in the middle of the song and again at the end is one of the guitars being plucked at its
harmonic or
resonance point, but you don't need to understand
standing wave theory to appreciate the beauty of the simple, quiet piece.
This tune was also featured on
Sesame Street as backgroud music during some of the
whimsical sand
animations that fascinated me so much as a child. If you like it, you might also enjoy
Led Zeppelin's
Bron-Yr-Aur and
Black Mountain Side.