NaNoWriMo started slow. I did no planning and finally decided to write my family history – a subject I enjoy a lot. It is also a subject I wanted to ensure was accurate which lead me into some very interesting but very deep rabbit holes.
Last weekend I got my flu shot which caused me to experience two days of dizzy spells. Then last Friday hubby and I both got our COVID Moderna boosters. We both ran fevers, mine accompanied extreme joint pain and a miserable headache for two days.
Long story short, I am giving myself a break. I am not pushing for 50,000 words in 30 days. I am writing, but this year, the deadline has to be of my own making.
This week the theme is songs that feature the lyrics of either Past, Present, or Future.
Losing someone we love impacts us in deep and meaningful ways – often lasting a lifetime. Hopefully we have all learned by now to say all the things we want to say so we are left with no regrets.
”The Living Years” was written by Mike Rutherford (founder of Mike + The Mechanics) and B.A. Robertson. Both writers lost their fathers and each wrote part of the lyrics based on their personal experience. The music was composed with only the first verse penned. The other verses would come later.
Paul Carrack, lead vocalist on this song also lost his father when he was eleven.
Released in December of 1988, the song would reach #1 in the US, Canada, Australia, and Ireland. It would make it to the #2 spot in the UK.
This song pushed Mike + The Mechanics onto the Adult Contemporary radio stations which impacted their radio time on rock stations in the US. When they released new rock singles, they had a difficult time getting AirPlay in the US.
Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door
I know that I’m a prisoner
To all my Father held so dear
I know that I’m a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
Oh, crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thought
Stilted conversations
I’m afraid that’s all we’ve got
You say you just don’t see it
He says it’s perfect sense
You just can’t get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talking in defence
Say it loud (say it loud), say it clear (oh say it clear)
You can listen as well as you hear
It’s too late (it’s too late) when we die (oh when we die)
To admit we don’t see eye to eye
So we open up a quarrel
Between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future
It’s the bitterness that lasts
So don’t yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate
It may have a new perspective
On a different day
And if you don’t give up, and don’t give in
You may just be okay
So say it loud, say it clear (oh say it clear)
You can listen as well as you hear
Because it’s too late, it’s too late (it’s too late) when we die (oh when we die)
To admit we don’t see eye to eye
I wasn’t there that morning
When my Father passed away
I didn’t get to tell him
All the things I had to say
I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
I’m sure I heard his echo
In my baby’s new born tears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
Say it loud, say it clear (oh say it clear)
You can listen as well as you hear
It’s too late (it’s too late) when we die (it’s too late when we die)
To admit we don’t see eye to eye
So say it, say it, say it loud (say it loud)
Say it clear (come on say it clear)
Song Lyric Sunday is hosted every Sunday by Jim Adams. If you would like to join in the fun, check out his blog for the rules and to take in all the other music posted by other bloggers.
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