Description
TTBB studio recording sung by Don Macdonald.
I first got the notion to write this poem when I was lying on the grass with my young son next to me, both of us transfixed by the slow-motion celestial dance of billowing clouds above us. In moments like these time has a way of slowing down and the high-stakes patterns of everyday life somehow become more trivial. The song is a call to a loved one to be present in the moment and to really see and reflect on simple things like the rain, the quiet, and the cool breeze. It is in these moments that we can greater appreciate the gift of life and the ability to love and be loved.
I wrote this for my wife Allison Girvan’s small but advanced youth choir, Laline, the smallest of 3 ensembles that she directs. I decided to compose a song much as a contemporary songwriter would, with my own lyrics and a form based around repeating verse and chorus. This is probably one of the easiest pieces of mine to learn yet one of the hardest to perform since the long phrases require a great deal of attention to dynamics, breathing, and consistency of tone.
Poetry
Come listen in the silence of the moment before rain comes down.
There’s a deep sigh in the quiet of the forest and the tall tree’s crown.
Now hold me.
Will you take the time to hold me and embrace the chill?
Or miss me,
will you take the time to miss me when the earth stands still?
Cause there’s no use running
cause the storm’s still coming
and you’ve been running for too many years.
Come listen in the silence of the moment before shadows fall.
Feel the tremor of your heartbeat matching heartbeat as we both dissolve.
Now hold me….
Cause there’s no use running
cause the storm’s still coming
and you’ve been running for too many years.
So stay with me, held in my arms
Like branches of a tree
They’ll shelter you for many years.
