Feb 2022 acoustic electric guitar
I came across @stephenwordsmith's lyrics and they moved me in a way that rarely happens. They are incredibly touching and sincere and very personal. This was the first time I was nervous sending the demo to a collaborator. I'm pleased and relieved he liked it and gave his permission to post it.
In the chorus you might hear my 4-year-old daughter babbling something in the background.
You're five, and you have hazel eyes
And hair of red. At least, this round
The colours change, but in them
That same love that I've forever found
CHORUS
The hand that deals and gathers
Cannot take what it won't give
Still I've loved you all this life
You never had the chance to live
You're six now, and your eyes are green
Like hers. You have her stare, her look
They laugh and cry the same between
The covers of her favourite book
CHORUS
And still we hoped long after the last day that we believed
With you, I'd want for nothing, and it's nothing I received
You're seven, and your eyes are blue
One pressed against your palm, the other
Tracing seas across the moon
The latest world that you'll discover
CHORUS
You're five, and you have hazel eyes
@davidtaro Mar 2022
Oh wow, this is heartbreaking stuff. @stephenwordsmith That last line of the chorus is crushing. I love how you’re also very restrained and opaque with the words. And there’s some utterly beautiful lines in there too (‘tracing seas across the moon’ is amazing!). @cheslain the melody is really bewitching and you deliver it with such sensitivity. Well done both!!
@radiobenedetto Mar 2022
@stephenwordsmith Great concept for a song. A love letter to the unborn. A vision unseen. So much pain and longing in this line “with you I’d want for nothing and it’s nothing rec’d” It’s a testament to a great lyric when it can inspire such a full hearted performance. @cheslain I love the chord progression and cadence you’ve chosen. I get vibes of fawming under the influence of David Gilmore…among the best in my book. Beautiful piece of work all around! #tit4tat
@gm7 Mar 2022
Great jazzy big intro..great start straight of the bat. A very sad and reflective song...a heartbreak tale that is relived and relived in this story.
Excellent song!
@dzdandcunfsd Mar 2022
Wow... this is a stunning lyric. and not something I'm used to from @stephenwordsmith. The stunning part yes, but the sheer intimacy of it. I had to go read your liner notes on the original and yup, it is what I thought it was... After being completely drawn into the intrigue of this. I'm a little dense at times so I was also getting some reincarnation vibes, but I did just finish watching Cloud Atlas :D
"With you, I'd want for nothing, and it's nothing I received" is fantastic! Hell it all is.
I think you did a fabulous job with this @cheslain The sad and jazzy chords and the little subtle slides really set the yearning and haunting and melancholic sadness this conveys.
I have an aunt just a few years older than myself... yes I'm a little bit hillbilly, but there are some branches in the family tree I swear. Her and her husband tried for almost 20 years then ended up with twins in an almost careful what you wish for situation. It was hard on them at times, and she always said we'd of given up long ago but its one of the few things that is still fun to fail repeatedly at.
@ballyhoot Mar 2022
Great musical opening. Beautiful, haunting, soothing, and sad, all at the same time. Very nice vocals, too. And those lyrics are beautiful and devastating. "The hand that deals and gathers, cannot take what it won't give." Love that line. Hell, love the whole chorus. Hell Hell, love all the lyrics. Ending with the same line as the beginning.... Nice choice. Great collab. One of my favorite songs of FAWM this year. #tit4tat
@bethdesombre Mar 2022
Oo! I love the mystery of the first stanza -- the specifics (5, hazel eyes) and the puzzle (at least this round) of change that then leads to "you never had the chance to live" -- the gut punch of understanding. This is stunning. #tit4tat
@airbagtester Feb 2022
The lyrics are devastating. I think this is the most deeply sad song I have ever heard on FAWM, and I think the music fits it very well, and also softens it a bit, which I am thankful for. @stephenwordsmith I haven't walked in your shoes, but I have been through some of the tough, trying part and I wish you the best. Thank you for sharing these personal lyrics.
@hyljetronic Feb 2022
I have something in my eyes. I'm not crying, you're crying.
@timfatchen Feb 2022
Tender touching and sad lyric, and the tune and backing enfolds it gently and lifts it closer to the watcher/listener
@metalfoot Feb 2022
This is a beautiful and fitting setting for the tender lyric. Just wonderful and heartbreaking.
@kendrakinsey Feb 2022
What beautiful guitar parts, weaving in and out. The lyrics are so moving, they are just perfect and heartbreaking.
@crisp1 Feb 2022
I actually thought this was a father imagining a stillborn child who had not died, imagining the child growing up gradually. It's a very tender and sensitive song and performance, with beautiful music and vocals that move the heart with a delicate touch. Bravo to both of you.
@seemanski Feb 2022
Only one really that can describe this, ok 2, absolutely stunning. The lyrics are so good and the laid back delivery with sparse instrumentation (I loved that slide guitar) really hammered it home.
@danvaillancourt Feb 2022
Great collab! Really nice accompaniment. Beautiful and haunting.
@hbusse Feb 2022
Wow. What a powerful lyric. Thank you for offering it- vulnerability is so often a pathway for powerful, touching communication like this.
That subtly wailing electric guitar in the background, wow. This musical setting really suits the lyric, with its wistfulness and melancholy.
@nahlej381 Feb 2022
This is beautiful! Love what you did with this set of wonderful lyrics, you did right by them.
@stephenwordsmith Feb 2022
Reflective, and suitably melancholic. Gave me a sense of something that I wouldn't quite describe as loss, and that's fitting because we're not dealing with loss, exactly - but something bigger and sadder than mere missed opportunity. Your approach was respectful and sensitive..
@jdschramm Feb 2022
Such a moody atmosphere with that slide in the background. Love the jazzy chords and melody line.
@richaaaay Feb 2022
Nice interpretation of Stephen's lyrics. The delicate acoustic guitar playing combined with the electric guitar track sets a good tone for the vocal delivery. Nice collaboration!
@mikeb Feb 2022
What a lovely treatment of Stephen's lyrics. Very heartfelt melody, music and performance.
@judypie Feb 2022
It’s jazzy and I like it! It all sounds delectable <3 amazing job!
@cblack Feb 2022
This is nice. The vocals suit the lyrics really well. That dreamy guitar sound provides a mellow backdrop.
Great job all around!