I don't hardly know any of them tunes. Wildwood flower, and rising sun I could work out in a few minutes, but don't play them. I do know the solo from sultans of swing.

I remember the opposite sort of proposition--if you can play, say, stairway to heaven you can play anything. Well, no I can't. My current benchmark piece is Debussy's Girl with flaxen hair, which I can play, but not well.

There should be a name for these things that signify expertise without really demonstrating it: I can't play basketball but I can twirl the ball as if I can. I can't remember how to play poker, but I can still cut the deck one-handed, two different ways--those sorts of things.

   Proud Mary is an example of another category of thing--those which become expressions that can plug back into themselves, like an extension cord symbol of eternity. Some people refer to over-done tunes as "Proud Marys" so that Proud Mary can be called "a Proud Mary." If you get on a bike after years, don't worry, it's just like riding a bicycle. My wife worries about taking baths during storms, but I figure the odds are like being struck by lightening. Etc.