This song ends up being about the recent separation of my wife and I after 26 years, although it didn't start out that way. As such, it's rather slow and sad. I wrote the first 4 lines of the lyric with the basic chords at least 20 years ago and sent them only recently to my brother this year, he finished the thought with flair and totally nailed it. Here is a sample of the 20-year old musings I sent to him.
Although he lives in a state many miles way and wasn't anywhere near here for any of this, the images he produced: "papers blow across the street", "ratty chairs set out for free", "the house is dark and vacant now", "some little thing for me to find", "a keepsake on the step", etc, are all totally real, accurate, and relevant to my experiences in our recent separation. The mark of a true lyricist is one who can write something based on another's feelings, which he did, from a great distance, with no information, and in spades. It's almost scary.
I was quite pleased with the sound and performance of my Yamaha "portable grand piano" keyboard on this song and with both it's grand piano and pipe organ voices as well as very happy with the sound of my Epiphone Custom Les Paul and it's stock bridge pickup for the lead and rhythm. I was also pleasantly surprised at the punch I got from my Rogue Violin Bass. Both guitar and bass went through some transformation using my V-Amp 2. The keyboard went straight into the Tascam with no additional effects, gotta love it as well as the bell-like tones (reminiscent of my earliest guitar hero: Davey Johnstone on Curtains, [move the pointer to 4:20, oddly enough]) of my Seagull acoustic. The instruments are all better 20 years down the road and they are also much less money, what's not to like?
Please consider this song a "live" version, meaning that all tracks went down in one take, nothing was recorded twice. Coming from the "analog tape" era, I easily resisted the temptation to go back and try to re-record any part of any track, so they're all there as they went down, warts and all, much like a live performance where I cloned myself and played every instrument as well as doing the vocals. The only modifications to the tracks were done when I did the final mixdown and silenced sections of some tracks that made me cringe (there are a couple of places that still make me cringe *sigh*), this song is now the result (turn it up!):
Hide away from the pain of yesterday.
Can't wash away the stain with your tears, or the years.
Is there no one to comfort you?
Is there really no one to comfort you?
A time we had you don't regret, a difference you'd approve, or perhaps
A hope we had that didn't die, just something to reassure.
A keepsake on the step, some little thing for me to find...
Some part of you left behind.
A sign outside: "I'm not asleep, don't leave without saying so".
Papers blow across the street. Ratty chairs set out for free.
Getting ready to leave now I know...
But there's nothing here of worth.
The words it takes, the time it takes to write them down...
The time it takes to write them down.
The house is dark and vacant now.
Everything is piled on the curb...
For children rooting through.
What could I ever say to you that you haven't really heard?
That I wish for you...that I wish I could comfort you.
words and music copyright (c) 2009 by Dr. Peter Fields and Craig Fields, all rights reserved.