I'll start with I'm not a singer, so I apologize for the roughness of my singing.
I picked up the guitar a couple years ago. Tried to teach myself for a bit, then took lessons for a year. Those lessons morphed into me writing a song. This song.
Something about a State I used to live in, something about a state I used to be in... something about transforming beyond the shells we used to call home, and longing for the simplicity of Before. But then you realize that Before was never simple. The Before you thought you had, never truly existed. Reconciling what you thought you had, with what you actually had, with what you have Now, and what you hope to have in the Future... it's a lot for a kid in a tree.
I don't know if this will resonate with any of you, but I'm glad I wrote it, and glad I'm grappling with life and its complications. It beats the alternative.
Big thanks to Mr. Jeff, who provided the guitar and other instruments in this piece, as well as teaching me enough about music theory for me to write this.
Lyrics:
There was a house
In Washington state
Where the leaves never changed
And neither did I
There was a tree
In the backyard
I’d climb to the top
To sit in the sky
I’d sing to the neighbor’s dog
And I’d pray to my parent’s god
And safe in those branches it felt like They’d always be listening
When I sing
When I sing
But the dog never moved
And I moved away
From the house and the tree
Where I felt known and safe
And the leaves won’t stop changing
And neither can I
I don’t wanna go back there,
But I still miss the sky
There is a house (A House isn’t home if I can’t stick around, )
In Washington State (I could stay till the end but I’m scared of what comes)
Where the leaves never died (When I’ve died will I think this was all a mistake)
And neither will I (How will I know the answer until it’s too late)
There is a tree (All these trees yet I can’t help but cling to the one)
In the backyard (In the yard of the home that for years has been gone)
I’ll climb to the top (At the top of that tree where I wanted to stay)
I’ll sit in the sky (Now the sky’s moved a million miles away)
I’ll sit in the sky (miles away)
I’ll sit in the sky (miles away)
Sit in the sky (miles away)
I was a kid
In Washington state
Thought I’d never change
But changing is life
There’ll be more trees
And there’s always backyards
So I’ll climb all the same
Until I reach the sky