Fawm song #5 is one of those melancholy, driving four chord folk songs that just goes on and on forever. But the relentless crawling motion and the haunting vocal keep it feeling comfortable against all odds. The poem at the center is melancholy and honest. It's a song about how we're always saying goodbye to the present, no matter how badly we'd like to hold onto it. Like one long road trip (you'll notice lots of imagery from a long drive I took with a lover last year), life goes on. Slowly plodding like the sun across the surface of the earth as it dances and spins further into the unknown void. I like the groundhog-day feeling of the repetition in the song structure. It's the kind of song that could repeat without the listener noticing. I hope you can lose yourself in it for a moment and remember your own travels fondly. Enjoy the song!
Goodbye my clandestine home in the wood
Goodbye my unaddressed neighborhood
Time is cold, we’re on the road
On toward what pines may ensue
On through the desert where sand is the sea
A siren that calls to the water in me
No time to stay, I’m on my way to
The ocean that paints the sky blue
Love please don’t think the are unhappy tears
I haven’t felt this alive in some years
Through sunshine and saline I’m seeing so clear
To live is to travel awhile
Goodbye my footsteps all washed in the tide
Goodbye my uncovered body and mind
Time will go, Never slow
Felling tall cliffs on the way
On through the hills were dark fires burn bright
Up where cloud river flows, towing the night
And time may smile, all the while
We take a moment to play
Hello trees so tall they block out the sun
And so old they’re shaken hands with everyone
Time will see babies come home
To the place they were made
Love please don’t think the are unhappy tears
I haven’t felt this alive in some years
Through sunshine and saline I’m seeing so clear
To live is to travel awhile
Goodbye smooth sand-dollar shards on the beach
Goodbye Olympus, raised up out of reach
Time will tell, whether we’ll
See you again on the way
So Long my sweet smiling lovers, adieu
I could spend centuries supping with you
Time will make memories
Melting our moments to clay
Love please don’t think the are unhappy tears
I haven’t felt this alive in some years
Through sunshine and saline I’m seeing so clear
To live is to travel awhile
@gm7 Mar 2022
Great sentiment and very nice smooth vocals . the ooohs are just well placed and the arrangement keeps the listener engaged.
#t4t4
@nancycunning Mar 2022
Oh, that line "To live is to travel awhile" reminds me of "To live is to fly" another of my favorite songs about moving along being part of life. Another beautiful song, lyrics, singing, guitar, and music. Feels like a good one to listen to over and over again.
@nadine Mar 2022
There's nothing bad about melancholy. You managed to make these 4 chords sound interesting throughout the song, because of your vocal performance and some tiny twists in the arrangements (drums out, entering piano, bells). It's indeed hypnotic, but also relaxing. #tit4tat
@sheslin Mar 2022
Love those vocal chord swells!! Love the melody - especially the 3rd line in the verses - such a lovely melodic turn. The vocals are fantastic - up front, clear with just the right emotive touch. Nice vocal harmonies also. I really like the lyrics also - wonderful imagery and a sense of lament - but a beautiful one. The repetitive style really pulled me in and your song was a really nice listen - kinda like watching a river flow - you don't understand all of it but it is mesmerizing and beautiful to watch. #tit4tat
@tamsnumber4 Mar 2022
Very hypnotic track and well produced and great vocal. The descriptors in the write fit with the melody, a very pleasant listen.
@wylddandelyon Mar 2022
To live is to travel awhile. Yes, indeed. A very pleasant song to listen to while sleepy, and the cat was happy to have me wiggling the red light for him for the length of a long song too, and is now glaring at me because I put the pointer down to comment.
This might be my favorite verse:
On through the hills were dark fires burn bright
Up where cloud river flows, towing the night
And time may smile, all the while
We take a moment to play
#tit4tat
@radiobenedetto Feb 2022
Great atmosphere you’ve created here. The musical layers work with the forest imagery. I love the softly walking bass lines of the fingerstyle guitar the moves gently under the “canopy” of the arrangement. I like how the the piano spotlights it as the song unfold. The vocal delivery/sound with the slightly saturated edges on the peaks and soft breathy landings at the end of phrases strikes is the right combination of laid back and expressive. The backup “oohs” are perfect. I know that you were going for a circular arrangement but I find myself wanting to hear a pedal steel raise the emotional dynamics at some point in this. Terrific production. Sounds really clean. Great listen!
@brisk Feb 2022
The plaintive (alt-?) folkiness of this is so lovely. Obviously all the production stuff is great, as from prior experience this is what you do. The words too are great - the itinerant voice so strong and melancholy. Killer final line too.
@davidtaro Feb 2022
Beautiful sentiment, man - ‘to live is to travel awhile’ indeed. +++ for those ethereal ooohs in the background, they’re fabulous. Top work as always :)
@richaaaay Feb 2022
Nice easy going vibe. Production, music and vocals are always so good. Just enjoying the musical ride and the well written lyrics...
@tseaver Feb 2022
Nice write! Weaving water in its various forms through the lyric gives it a nice unity: "Through sunshine and saline I'm seeing so clear" is a perfect capstone.
@henika Feb 2022
Lovely feel that harks back to those nostalgic 50s ballads. A beautiful daydream.
@jimeddy9 Feb 2022
Lovely, lilting, languorous. Liked it lots!