This is my first attempt at writing a song for my dad who passed away on 2016. I’m trying to remember the whole of who he was. The good and the bad. Of course I loved him, but life is complicated.
You know I never wrote a song about you
There’s a story waiting to be told
Of the choices that you made that surround you
Of the kindness of your soul
It’s a broken dream left to be
It’s a kind of love that’s unspoken
It’s a life that stands as tall as a tree
It’s a tired old book that you wrote in
It’s a colorful fish in the water
It’s sitting on your knee at night
It’s a secret kept for a father
It’s trying to get out of a fight
It’s an old house that’s haunted and gray
Like smoke from cigarettes, our memories fade
Like the words to a song
We no longer sing along
The ghosts of those days dissipate
@truetone Feb 2022
Thanks for all the comments and feedback! I’ll definitely circle back around to this one after Feb to refine it a bit!
@timfatchen Feb 2022
I read the lyric before the liner note. On the lyric, a suggestion: repeat the first verse at the end, I think a bookend is needed there. Your choice and use of similes is what makes this lyric ring, but it needs to circle back to the "you" it is about.
Okay, then I read the liner notes. It's a good start but yes, I know, life is complicated when it comes to parents. An there's the added complication that, for them and the young you, it was a different age.
@tawny249 Feb 2022
I obviously didn't know your father, but I think you did him justice. I like all the little moments you chose to highlight - colorful and tall and tired, all at once. I haven't lost a parent yet, but I'm sure it never gets easy. So, good on you for honoring his memory.
@jlampson Feb 2022
I can't even imagine how hard this was, and still is, for you. It's a beautiful tribute to someone who made an obvious impact in your life, and it comes across as a fully-realized and authentic view of a person who, though larger than life, was fully human. Thank you for sharing your story and your lyrics.