“Gone” - a song about missed opportunity
“She loves me, she loves me not”
Story Pairing
This song came from me picturing an individual pulling pedals off a flower, chanting that age old “they love me, they love me not” as they tossed those bits off a mountain. I’ve always loved simple images like that, classic sayings, and innocent whimsical nothings that we use to fill our free time with.
I don’t need to talk much more on what this song is about, that’s up to you. I’ve said ti before, but these musings walk a fine line for me. I want to share bits of what goes into a song for a number of reasons. One is so that as I look back at these in the far future, there is enough material to spark a memory of why I wrote the tune. I also want to have enough there to show a budding songwriter where random ideas can come from. Those two I want balanced with a simple story or handful of thoughts to hint at possibilities so that the readers imagination can start to drift.
I am noticing that I don’t daydream the way I used to. When I have a free moment, I don’t lay in the grass and play with a flower, I reach for my phone. This song for whatever reason helps remind me to be in the moment, as hard as that is. Each moment is about to be gone, we only have the now for a fraction of a second until it is the past. Personally I have been filling too much of my “nows” with distraction instead of boredom and/or potential. I rarely create a thing after scrolling mindlessly on my phone for 10, 20, 30+ minutes, but if I spend 30 minutes outside, just soaking up what’s around me, it’s pretty rare that I don’t get some idea that starts to whisper in my ear. A simple thought taking root is a precious treasure.
Another thought that has been in my head a lot is how much I am away from home these days. I come back wanting to pick up exactly where I left off, but that pause point is never where I left it. Time of course doesn’t stop when you leave a space, but in your mind, it kind of does. You leave a place and the imprint you take with you is a snapshot of the “then” as soon as you’ve passed the “now”. It’s a reaching statement, sounding like I am trying to be deep. I’m not. I’m more just realizing how selfish the mind is. Mine feels confused when I come back to find something different than the last time I interacted with it. Such is life, but it’s a little jarring every time. The worst is when you feel like you missed out on a powerful or really enjoyable shift/change. You realize that you aren’t really needed to be in the proximity of something for it to progress. That’s a cold bucket of water to get splashed with.
Welp…. that’s my stream of consciousness for this tune. If you haven’t noticed yet, I don’t really edit these sections. I start writing, and then just hope my fingers keep up with whatever my mind has swirling around that’s itching to attach itself to this particular song. Enjoy. Thanks for reading. Thanks for listening. Thanks for using your “now” with me.
Video Notes:
We took this video in the Francis Marion National Forest. Staying at an off-grid swamp-house owned by Eddie White, the mastermind behind an incredible venue called Awendaw Green. At the house, he has a bunch of boats, and if you see Chrissy, tell her kudos for getting out on a canoe in the swamp (even if she was yelling loud enough to wake the dead at first).
Thank you to the folks on Patreon for privately funding these videos that everyone get’s to enjoy. MVPs!
Song Structure
Chords:
Verse - A / D / F#m7 / E7
Chorus - A / D / F#m7 / E7
Bridge - C#m / F#m7 / D / E7
Voice Memos
Notebook Page
Mar 2021
Lyrics
So you’re standing on a mountain, throwing daisies in the wind
Counting the he loves mes on the breeze
Saying please come back I need ya, but girl I can’t believe ya
You had your chance to be with me
Now I’m gone in another's arms
I’m Gone for good
Gone in another's arms
You haven’t given up by now, maybe you should
Remember when I held you, said girl you are the one
Smiled and you swore that you agreed
Then the first time it went storming, said you needed sun
Found a ship to sail into the sea
For years I didn’t see you
No whisper of your voice
Heard that you came knocking on my door
Surprised I didn’t stay, sitting here while you were away
And that you couldn’t have me like before
Now I’m gone in another's arms
I’m Gone for good
Gone in another's arms
You haven’t given up by now, maybe you should
Don’t go crying all your troubles
Don’t go trying all those silly tricks on me
Now I’m gone in another's arms
I’m Gone for good
Gone in another's arms
You haven’t given up by now, maybe you should