Hi everyone, and thank you for reading. Although I have several short stories in the queue for posting, I thought that this week I would have a change and do something completely different.
Instead of a flash fiction story, I decided to post the lyrics of a song that I wrote way back in 1985.
The song is sung in a similar, but very slightly faster and more upbeat lilt than Bob Dylan's “Tomorrow is a long time.”
WINTER IS FOREVER
When I could no longer see that rainbow,
And clouds hid the beauty of the skies,
Your song could make my shadow touch the ground,
And the words bring the colours to my eyes.
And when silence broke those walls I'd laid around me,
And all I'd left was feeling disinclined,
The echo of your voice was there to guide me,
And I couldn't help but read between the lines.
* * * * * * * * * *
Refrain:
But I don't mind if winter is forever,
And I don't mind the cold morning rain,
I don't think at all about tomorrow,
When I hold you to my breast once again.
* * * * * * * * * *
I've heard the sound of full-grown men crying,
And I've heard the sound of rivers running dry,
I've heard the sound of castle walls falling,
And I've heard so many different reasons why.
I've seen mountains turn to sand while I was climbing,
And I've seen the truth, of living in a lie,
And yet all those spectral memories still haunt me,
Like the broken wings I tried so hard to fly.
* * * * * * * * * *
I held you in the night while you were sleeping,
And stayed awake to catch you should you fall,
I carried you through darkness 'til the daybreak,
And you didn't seem to weigh anything at all.
We walked those golden fields and silver beaches,
Sailed our magic carpet across the sky,
Though I never really thought it was forever,
I don't think it was a waste of time to try.
©1985 Stephen. J. Green.
©2012 Stephen. J. Green.
That was lovely! Really nice lyrics, that had a touch of the emotional and sentimental about them.
ReplyDeleteThank you Helen, there was a touch of emotion in the writing of this too. :-)
DeleteCan you play a guitar? You should record this and post it. I'll bet it sounds nice.
ReplyDeleteHi Larry. Yes, I bought my first guitar back in 1975, and taught myself to play finger-picking style like Paul Simon, Bob Dylan and such.
DeleteThe 80's were probably when I hit my peak skill-wise, and also when I wrote a good few songs too. Nowadays it is a rare occurence for the guitar to come out, I also own an electric one too.
As for singing, although I enjoy singing along to my guitar, in all truth my singing voice is not very good, so I don't think anyone will be approaching me with a recording contract. :-)
Steve, this is a beautifully poignant song. Now that you've let the cat out of the bag you know we're going to prod you to get that guitar out and record not only this but others you've written. Big Hint! :)
ReplyDeleteHiya Deanna, and thank you for the compliment.
DeleteI actually mentioned my guitar playing on these pages a couple of months ago in the post "The Kreativ Blogger award" which you can read here:-
http://greenstephenj.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/kreativ-blogger-award.html
It is also on my blogger profile too. :-)
And thank you also for your confidence in my singing, but it really is not very good. I may decide to post the lyrics from another of my songs at some future time though. :-)
I would love to have a recording of you singing, dad. I would treasure it xxx
ReplyDeleteHiya Louise darling. Your mum has just 'fessed up that she secretly videoed me playing and singing "Tomorrow is a long time" about 4 years ago, and is emailing the clip to you.
DeleteLove you. XXX
Aww well that's just lovely! Thank you for sharing :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Icy. Although quite a few people have heard me play guitar and sing my songs, at parties and such, this is the first time I have aired one of them to the public.
DeleteI vote for a recorded version as well! :) I really dug the last part, "Though I never really thought it was forever, I don't think it was a waste of time to try." Cool sentiment.
ReplyDeleteThanks Aaron. Many of the words are a reflection of how I was feeling at the time of writing them. :-)
DeleteWhat perfect timing. The cold front is rolled over and squashed our summer early. I like the lilt this achieves and the slightly upbeat twist this adds to winter.
ReplyDeleteThank you Aidan, Although my repertoire included upbeat songs, the ones that I wrote myself tended to be more melancholy, and poetically metaphorical, I was definitely heavily influenced by Bob Dylan.
DeleteBut the song I always enjoyed singing the most is "Kathy's song", By Simon and Garfunkel.
A truly beautiful song, you can listen to it here if you would like to:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q60YKfPKdjQ
Beautiful Steve! Maybe someone in your family sings and you can play the guitar? Could be quite the duet :).
ReplyDeleteThanks Craig. We have had some very folky-type weekends with the guitars over at my wife's sister's house, her husband is a fairly accomplished guitarist and folk singer, and some of those boozy nights have been great fun. :-)
DeleteLoved it Steve! I think the last line, about trying not being a waste of time, rather touching and profound.
ReplyDeleteThank you Li, we don't really know what we can achieve, or what we can hold on to, unless we try, do we?
DeleteAlso, if we try to nurture and hold something, just to lose it anyway, at least we know we didn't just throw away something precious.
Oh, this is such wonderful songwriting and poetry Steve! I love every line of it, because it is touching and beautiful and methinks very sincere. =)
ReplyDeleteP.S. Aye, record it!!!!
Thanks Cindy. I think it would be very true to say that at the time of writing my songs, a large part of myself went into the lyrics.
DeleteWhat lovely lyrics!
ReplyDeleteThank you Sonya. As I replied to Icy, this is the first time the lyrics from one of my songs have been posted for open scrutiny, and the response and comments have been heartwarming. :-)
DeleteMy favorite line is "I've seen the truth, of living in a lie." Great stuff. Dylan is my all time favorite, by the way, I never tire of listening to him.
ReplyDeleteThanks Richard. I have always liked Bob Dylan's work, and like many other people drew inspiration from his songs.
DeleteHi there Steve -- great you posted this and a happy way of giving it an airing. Some lovely lines in there. Definitely need to get it recorded -- by hook or by crook -- so we can hear it played. :) If not you, surely some talented YouTuber would give it a go?
ReplyDeleteYouTuber... is that a word? Sounds like a place to share videos of potatoes and other root vegetables...
St.
Hi Stephen, and thanks. I think it's unlikely it will ever get recorded... But who knows?
DeleteHaha, I like your take on Youtuber. :-)