I wrote this song a few months ago. It’s another challenging guitar song. I am learning a lot about recording, but not enough. And mixing is its own quandary.
My friend Laurie died 19 years ago yesterday. I lit a candle for her that night, as is, I heard, the Jewish custom. She understood the idea of invisible stars, even if we never used the term. And my father’s birthday is coming up. I think he would have gotten this song, too, although his answer would have something to do with religion and faith. I miss him. What would he say about these times and this life?
In the days that my father grew older.
His gaze often drifted over my shoulder.
Some muted beacon, some foggy shore
Caught his attention like a half-open door.
What he saw there was a mystery
Part of his future or part of his history.
Out past predictions and hide-bitten rules.
Darkened with wonder and sparkled with jewels.
Pulled by invisible stars.
Candlelit caves and flamenco guitars.
The spirit takes wing through the locks and the bars.
Pulled by invisible stars.
Galaxies glitter like treasure
Filled with dark matter that no one can measure
Gravity pulls at our sleeve and our hearts
Shaping our orbits the moment we start
Infinity shows up in our telescopes.
We open our genes like gift envelopes.
Shredding the sequence decoded like text
And claw at the door of the world that comes next.
I wonder what my father carried.
Good at his job, happily married.
Given to service. Driven to teach
What longings lingered just out of reach?
© Stuart Stotts 2018