This song and the next are cut from the same vine. They are branches of the same tree of inspiration. A story that is personal but hopefully universal at the same time.
I posted this like a week ago and realized I didn’t label it in the right category. So, it showed up on the iTunes podcast but not here on the website. There are some thoughts and lyrics missing instead of me doing my usual fill in mumbling (ala Michael Jackson or Stevie Wonder studio demos if you have ever heard some of those).
I stood up one evening in my normal state of sleep deprivation and started playing the opening guitar riff and lyric as if I was covering someone else’s song. Admittedly, the feel of the tune has a current flavor as well as maybe harkening back to that “U2″ power rock thing so that could have been the familiarity for me. But, the lyric just poured out and started filling up this story that I didn’t know I wanted to tell. I think the story of someone leaving home to start a new exciting life has been told many times. The thing is, it’s never been MY story. I live in the same 12 block radius where I grew up and have watched many of those adventurers head out for a new life. I thought it would be interesting to speak for those who are left back at home.
The thing that really hurts is not that they are just physically gone, but that they don’t even seem like they are missing you. In fact, I wonder if they were ever really here to begin with. The song Like a Rolling Stone by Dylan has a line that says “No direction home”. It’s also the name of a documentary put together by Martin Scorcese where Dylan talks about being born in a place that seemed far from where he was supposed to be. So, his life has been a journey to find his true home. I wonder how his brother David felt about that?
More Ways Than One
Listen Now:
She paints her skin
In typical black and green
If she comes in
Maybe she’ll come find me
But she wears her heart
On her imaginary sleeve
She’s out somewhere beyond the sun
She’s got a hundred new lives begun
And I know
She’s not here
In more ways than one
I’ll take your hand
I’ll never hold you down
The offer still stands
But you never planned to stick around
It’s not enough
What I could give you on the ground
I had another version of this song that was much more mellow and had a few other sections but after talking with Neal (see earlier posts) he encouraged me rework the arrangement. We trimmed the fat and put some other lyrics to it. Obviously, these are all works in progress, but I’m glad we spent some time with it before posting it the first time. I look back and realize that it’s painfully obvious that most of my writing takes place between 10pm and 4am when the rest of the world is asleep and my house/hotel room/place to stay is nice and quite. I want to take the rest of the year and put myself in some other places.
Interesting view point – I like that perspective. This song reminds me a lot of another song you wrote, but I can’t put my finger on it. Anyway, I’m excited to hear more!
From the one who has lived on both coasts and everywhere in between, this song hits home. Makes me think about why anyone would leave home in the first place. And I’ve been singing, “She wears her heart on her imaginary sleeve” all week long. Geeenious.
Welcome home brother, good to hear your voice again. Been missing you
)
Carl Jung had a term that I can’t remember right now for the idea that people could be born into one place/time/belief system and yet feel as if they belong in another. Some people’s natures seem to fit very well into their nurtured upbringing, but others feel out of place from the get-go. Most of us have elements that fall into both categories.
I’ve lived in several places, and have felt at home in most of them. Something about my makeup seems to be able to adjust easily to my surroundings. But I find that there’s a constant struggle upon each move to let the people I’ve left behind know that I miss them while at the same time investing in the wonderful people that surround me in my current home. The balancing act becomes one of quality vs. quantity. But what a wonderful thing to have to balance…spending time with many beautiful people.
What she said.
Although I’ve always been a “home is where my heart is” kind of girl, I agree with Jess on the point that perhaps many of us have elements of both sides and are needing to learn the balance. Balance…I believe it to be the key to life.
Perhaps the question/dilema lies in how people define “home” and what it is they think they’re looking for and how they think they’ll find it.
This is a cool upbeat love song. It reminds me of the style you used to hear like on “Bosom Buddies” or “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, that 70′s music style mixed with 80′s lyrics. It is very sincere and honest as a song and on another level, a very endearing poem too. I like this one Jared, good to see you back brother!
Nice work man. Love the part towards the end where you sing about her having 100 new lives and then your voice layers make it sound like 100 voices. Didn’t know if you meant it to happen like that, but it sounds cool
This song really touched my heart. I’ve been on the go for what seems like forever. Chasing the “sun” When I listen to this song it feels like time stands still for a moment as i look in the mirror. Its bittersweet. Not expecting to see the hearts of those I love.