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First, a little history.
After my Father passed away in February 1998, I went back to Las Vegas for the funeral in March, and left my car with Tall Paul at his home in Nashville. When I came back, I picked up my car and drove back to Knoxville in the early evening. On the way, I was thinking about Dad, about my family, and about how I felt about the whole situation. Call it inspiration, call it intervention ... whatever you call it, I had to write it down. I wrote the first few lines on a Burger King napkin, and then put it away until two months later, when I could read through it without tears. I finished the song, and put it away again. It was too close ... too hard ...
So, sometime in the Fall, I pulled it back out and read through it. I wanted to do something with this song, to share how I felt and work through my pain. I came up with a melody, committed it to memory, and felt better. BUT, since I don't play an instrument (well), I had no way to translate what I'd done to music. I remembered something, though, that I thought was equally as important, that I knew someone else who knew how I felt.
I brought the lyrics with me to a Tall Paul show at Darryl's. I took him to the side and asked him to take them home and read them, to see what they inspired in him. Soon after, Paul came back with music, a melody, and an EMOTION that just...FIT. It was totally different from what I'd imagined, and somehow, that made it perfect, because it became a mesh of how we felt about our fathers. The result is what you hear below.
In 2001, Paul has completed his second studio CD, "Fast Beneath My Feet." One of the songs he chose to include is Left Behind, a tribute to how powerful this song is for him as well as for me. Please visit his website at www.tallpaul.com for information on ordering the CD. The song
was also been turned into a special CD single...after the September 11 tragedy, a friend of Tall Paul's walked in to Tower Records in Nashville and heard that they were playing "Left Behind" from Paul's CD on in-store play. Somehow, SOMEONE was touched by this song, enough to want to share it with others. So, Paul and I decided to continue to share our song with others.
All sales from the CD were directed toward charities helping with disaster relief and recovery.
Listen. I hope you enjoy, and understand.
Left Behind (A
Song for My Father)
So many things I want to say
But all these tears get in the way
And while I'm choking on the words
Time passes by ...
I think of all we could have done
And all the laughter, all the fun
And how I never had the chance
To say goodbye ...
All I see, and all I do
I can't help but think of you
And watch you flicker like a candle in my mind
You meant the world and more to me
The gift of life that set me free
And how I wish I could just make the days rewind ...
To say I love you ... and say thank you ... from the son you left behind
I wont forget your crooked smile
And I will miss your special style
And how you helped me find the strength
To face my fears ...
Somehow I know I'll see you again
I don't know how, and don't know when
But in the meantime, I'll remember you
And know you're with me through the years
All I see, and all I do
I can't help but think of you
And how this life can sometimes be so unkind
It means the world to know you're free
I know you're watching over me
But now I wish I could just make the years rewind ...
To say I love you ... and say thank you ... from the son you left behind
Just to say I love you ... and I miss you ...
Words by Scott A. Sokoloski
Music by Tall Paul
©1998, All Rights Reserved
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