That's it for me I'm afraid, need a few hours sleep before work tonight. Which means I'm a loser for the second successive year. Boo!
I've wrestled with this song for a couple of days. It's still too wordy and too long, but I have no time to cut it down to a more comfortable size. And I don't have a proper title, so I'll just call it Ramblings for now, due to the quasi-philosophical meanderings permeating the lyrics. The guitar didn't sound right tonight, but that's just the way it goes sometimes. Blame the weather.
Spoke to my great grandfather
Just the other night
I knew him once I heard his voice
Though we never met in real life
I can't recall the conversation
But the feeling stayed with me
A warm unbroken line
Stretching well across a century
Life is a twisting road
And every turn will leave its mark
Though many lessons I've learned along the way
Somehow I'm still in the dark
When I think of my childhood
Seems like another age
Now I live alone and read old books
Like a fool or like a sage
They say wisdom comes along with age
A shift of focus turns the page
Eternity takes on a different form
It's nothing you can weigh or measure
Suffering comes along with pleasure
There's stillness in the eye of the storm
Once we were hunters and collectors
We found shelter in caves
We settled to cultivate the land
We made war and we took slaves
Now here we are in the golden age
We are the lucky few
We reap what's been sown through history
And we got more than we can chew
We hurry for tomorrow
Forget about yesterday
Perhaps we don't look back enough
And sometimes we lose our way
When I was young I had a pony
Through the countryside we'd roam
And if I ever got lost in the forest
The horse would lead us home
They say wisdom comes along with age
A shift of focus turns the page
Eternity takes on a different shape form
It's nothing you can weigh or measure
Suffering comes along with pleasure
There's stillness in the eye of the storm
Some write songs about their children
Some write songs to their wife
Well I'm not doing any of that
I've lived alone for most of my life
Wrote a few about the lovers
That I lost along the way
Most of them feel awkward
If I sing them now today
They say wisdom comes along with age
A shift of focus turns the page
Eternity takes on a different shape form
It's nothing you can weigh or measure
Suffering comes along with pleasure
There's stillness in the eye of the storm
So many stories
Getting lost in the sands of time
We're living in a strange age
Putting our whole lives online
Well I bow my head in honour
Of the stories that we've outgrown
The search for truth goes on
But truth can never fully be known
They say wisdom comes along with age
A shift of focus turn the page
Eternity takes on a different shape
It's nothing you can weigh or measure
Suffering comes along with pleasure
And stillness in the eye of the storm
Well I'm not superstitious
I don't believe in the afterlife
But if my great grandfather drops by
I will ask for some advice
© 2022 Tomas Thunberg
@johnstaples Mar 2022
Tomas, this is absolutely beautiful! I am a sucker for a long ballad and this one is a gem! The guitar solos perfect! And your vocals sound weary. And pure. And comforting! The lyrics are such a treat! Long, yes, but I think I would not be able to remove a single word!!! I especially like the bookending of the song with your great grandfather! I enjoyed this song quite a lot!
@mikedebenham Mar 2022
This is lovely. Lots of striking lines: 'warm unbroken line'; the whole history verse. And the way your great grandfather bookends it all makes the song feel like part of a grand cycle. An excellent crop from you once more, Tomas.
@richardmasters Feb 2022
I'm glad you didn't cut this down - such a beautiful, wonderful song - listened to it twice, back to back. It flows like an ancient river - it is so direct and heart felt but there also layers and mysteries in there too. The playing and delivery are, as always, on the money but this song brings something new to your canon of work. It's an edifice, it's a wonder
@coolparadiso Feb 2022
What an epic lyric so much to take in. Love thr setting around the grandfather. So much truth and sage advice here.
@pumpkinhead Feb 2022
You've done some serious writing this year. I totally got into this story and hope to dream of some great grandfather tonight (about all I didn't recognize in the lyric from my own life). I bet that picking was nice to play, could go on for ever.
Peace