It can be quite cathartic writing a song when a parent dies. This is my tribute to Dad who died in October. Maybe there’s a little Gerry Rafferty in here, a dash of ELO, there’s probably no Roy Orbison nor Buddy Holly in it, except in spirit, perhaps.*
Inevitably, it’s a song about life and death and legacy and the sea…but so are almost all my other songs, except the Xmas ones…but even then…
Wait a week, see what comes into your head
Give it time for inspiration to seep through instead
I don’t know that they’ll hold up a light to you, unpaid
I’ve got no answers, I’m on the hand-me-down parade
Did you see the waves, they rushed to crown the shore?
There were no lives to save they settled with an open score
Hand me down the things always left unsaid
Give us this very day, our daily bread, our daily bread
Hand me down exactly what it is I needed
Hand me down I’m tired I think I can concede that
you shine the light , I’ll play a while on this side
Until it’s time for me to hand it down, hand it down
I’ve been trying to take a picture in the shade
Why won’t you hand me down what I have made? What have I made?
’cause I’m on a mission to separate the right from wrong
But, I just don’t feel I need to write another highway song
Hand me down exactly what it is I needed
Hand me down untied I think I can concede that
you shine a light , I’ll stay ’cause you are by my side
Until it’s time for me to hand it down
Did you hope to turn the tide, that washed you on the shore?
You saved the souls, the brave, who lingered on that open score
Hand me down the words…better left unsaid
Take it back today, our daily bread, our daily bread
Hand me down exactly what it is I needed
Hand me down tongue-tied I think I can concede that
you hold the light, I’ll stay a while on the inside
Until it’s time for me to hand it down, hand it down, hand it down
*To be honest, there’s probably more U2, RHCPs, James Taylor and David Bowie in this, but they wouldn’t have been on his top 20 playlist I don’t think…