Feb 2022 folk fearless heartache stars
Today's fearless prompt was "imaginary constellations." Also inspired, I think, by @Skyezor's FAWM project this year (which is GREAT -- you should go listen to her songs). Not the best recording (I wish I had time to get the playing/singing right, but it's onto the next!), but you get the picture.
Imaginary Constellations
We sat out in the dark beneath imaginary constellations
“Look,” you said, “A dragon," "no, a swan”
You reached out and took my hand and suddenly the earth stopped spinning
And, for one brief moment, fear was gone
Everything would be alright I knew
All I’d ever hoped to find was you
Look to the stars
We’ll imagine a future that is ours
To discover on the way
In the light of dawn
We may learn what we wanted all along
Wasn’t really meant to stay
I met you on a park bench the next morning with anticipation
Wore my favorite shirt and faded jeans
You were glad to see me but indifferent to what would follow
Our enchantment not what it had seemed
Had I misread the meaning in the sky
Left alone to sit and wonder why
Look to the stars
We’ll imagine a future that is ours
To discover on the way
In the light of dawn
We may learn what we wanted all along
Wasn’t really meant to stay
In the years that followed I’ve endured my share of grief and heartache
Sometimes I can still misread the signs
But I still go out and find imaginary constellations
Seeking ways to make some new designs/
What I’ve learned from patterns in the sky
Is that it takes courage just to try
Look to the stars
We’ll imagine a future that is ours
To discover on the way
In the light of dawn
We may learn what we wanted all along
Wasn’t really meant to stay
© Beth DeSombre 2022 (FAWM #7)(Fearless #5: Imaginary Constellations)
@siebass Mar 2022
Optimistic, rosy-colored take here, on hope and imaginary constellation, but turning more bittersweet as it rolls on, and the line that sticks with me is that we may learn what we wanted all along wasn't really meant to stay. Great recurrent use of the metaphor of the changing stars and changing dreams.
@leepat Mar 2022
again, wonderful development of what could have been just another love song.
and again the fine line between imagination and reality and the resolve to keep looking for, and thus bringing into being, new designs…
a wonderful evocation of the creative spark which transforms the reality of sorrow into a potential for joy!
@coolparadiso Mar 2022
your guitar is always so clean and pleasant! I like the way the lyric just flows on! top class chorus really brings this home. a lovely song #tit4tat (3 of 5)
@nadine Mar 2022
The storytelling in this song is well done. Makes me wanna look into the stars and talk about imaginary constellations. I don't understand why people stick to the stuff people wrote in their books a hundreds of years ago. I'd be lucky to find a stellar constellation of headphones or some other gear :D #tit4tat
@katestantonsings Mar 2022
Endearing lyrics with lovely imagery. I really enjoyed your soft vocal and guitar. #Tit4tat
@mikegtz Feb 2022
This is really good, Beth. An inspired reading of the prompt and a very nice performance!
@tukayandryan Feb 2022
I remember the hours I spent when I was young looking up the stars. I like to look up now and imagine my mum is up their among the constellations looking down on me.
Love your storytelling in this one the most.
@mikedelaney Feb 2022
very nicely crafted with perfectly chosen rhymes. I noticed that the last line you sung was different from in the lyric sheet. I guess with these song prompts you probably find yourself writing songs you never would have written.
@tamsnumber4 Feb 2022
I love the chorus and how you phrased it, that is catchy. Love the story and hook and the idea of "misreading the signs" This really was one I chose to read a few times and take in.
@rayboneor Feb 2022
What a great title! If I could play guitar like that (and record it), I don't think I'd mess around trying to add drums and stuff. This is lovely...so vivid, melodic, and beautifully sung. Wasn't meant to stay--ah, that's great
@oswlek Feb 2022
Lovely upbeat folk opening. I really like when the picking and singing on "everything" synch up. Really nice melodic lift at the end of that line, which tees up a nice break to give the guitar a moment to shine. The descending bass note really works in the chorus. The lyrics in the chorus is really tight and moving.
Stellar write! I really enjoyed it.
@tseaver Feb 2022
Good write. I love that, in spite of the disappointment, the POV still goes out to look for novel constellations.
@eas3637 Feb 2022
Ooh, I love this one a lot. The story is so delicately told but there is so much happening. Those small moments - pointing out the constellations, the faded jeans - paint a whole picture. And the scan of the lyrics is so pleasing - "In the light of dawn/We may learn what we wanted all along/Wasn’t really meant to stay." Fabulous internal rhymes.
@aflinner Feb 2022
Nice job. Really nice guitar picking, and the lyrics tell a good story. To me, this has a sound that is both fragile and keeps moving, which is appropriate. Good work, thanks for sharing.
@hamiltonpoolhall Feb 2022
Great results from a great prompt! This definitely did not go where I thought it would from the opening stanza, and I enjoyed being surprise by that, and the way you circle back, after covering so much ground, to the original image/idea. Plus, there's something excellent, charming, conversational and symbolic about one person seeing a dragon where the other sees a swan, which captivated me right from the start.
@ductapeguy Feb 2022
Hello Beth. This is Mr. McGaughey. I listened with my first grade music class. Here are their comments.
P: I like the because it made me calm.
C: I like the startine.
E: It made me feel like I was in Hawaii.
M: I thought this was a song for when you are at the beach.
O: I like your guitar playing.
S: I like the sounds because it sounds good and its fun
@mikeb Feb 2022
An interesting story - how sharing one magic time doesn't necessarily equate to more.
Pretty guitar playing and melody, as always from you!
@sheslin Feb 2022
Always love your fingerpicking Beth. Your lyrics are so good - I especially like the chorus. I really like the lyric pace in the chorus too, and very nice phrasing. Nice timing change-up in your pre-chorus.
@kenmattsson Feb 2022
Some lovely writing here, and the chorus is great and I LOVE the last verse. That is dynomite. Lovely job.