I Never Knew How to Say Goodbye
http://www.soundclick.com/neilstuart
Sitting in the darkness
in a room where there used to be light
pondering life's meaning
without the slightest bit of insight
trying to live in a house
that used to be a home
sitting in the darkness
in a room all alone
remembering when I
used to tell you that I loved you
you used to ask me why
I always used to know exactly what to say
but I didn't know how to say goodbye
living in my memories
not paying any attention to my life
just one day after another
no future in sight
the time we spent together
laughter in our eyes, love in our hearts
now you're gone forever
and now I know what it's like to be apart
but I remember when I
used to tell you that I loved you
you used to ask me why
I always used to know exactly what to say
but I didn't know how to say goodbye
dreams once dreamt
gathering dust
dreams once sparkled
now turn to rust
once our future
now our past
didn't want to believe
that it wouldn't last
now I'm sitting here in darkness
unable to see the light
remembering when I
used to tell you that I loved you
you used to ask me why
I always used to know exactly what to say
but I didn't know how to say goodbye
Good job, Neil.
Very melancholy song.
I think I'll have another beer.
It's the rock that gives the stream its music . . . and the stream that gives the rock its roll.
Hi Neil,
Good to hear your distinctive voice again. I really enjoyed the guitar playing, and your vocals seemed to match the lyrics really well too. I always seem to chicken out when I try to write or sing more serious themes, and go for light humour instead. So I've been listening to it, to see if I can pick up a few tips from your style, and I've been enjoying it a lot - if 'enjoy' is quite the right word for sadder songs.
It's rare for me to play songs off the net more than once, and this one is currently on the fourth time through, so I guess that's a four star rating so far, and could go all the way to five.... :) Thanks for posting an mp3 - it always means so much more than just lyrics.
Cheers,
Chris
You really know how to hit a raw nerve, don't you, Neil! Just when I think I'm getting somewhere with this songwriting stuff, you pop up with a new song and an MP3 that makes me want to throw away the guitar......
Recipe for a good song?
Hmmmmm........
Take an acoustic guitar. Strum or fingerpick a few chords. Be sure to throw a few major7ths in there. Write lyrics. Put in oven, gas mark 4, for 55 minutes.
Easy, isn't it? If only!
You seem to have found a, if not THE, magic formula/recipe.....be yourself, write about yourself, put some of yourself - or a lot of yourself - into the guitar playing. Seems to be an effortless knack you've got these days.....
So - when are you going to share the secret? Man, it's a shame you weren't writing songs around '72 or so - that was the peak era for singer/songwriters. Don McLean's "American Pie" was a huge hit, James Taylor (a lot of your songs remind me of JT - not the voice, but the structure, the guitar playing, the lyrics, the phrasing, the way it all fits together seamlessly - there was a man who could keep an audience rapt with just an acoustic guitar and his voice!) was at his peak, there was Jackson Browne, Leonard Cohen, and of course that was around the time "Blood On The Tracks" came out.....Carole King's "Tapestry"....
Yep, you've found a niche....what you need now is a time machine. We'd probably still be humming along to all your songs if they'd been released back then......
Ah well - there's always a place for good music. I think your place is here at GN, with an alternative home at Soundclick....you took this guitar playing thing up about thirty years too late!
Then again, you can always guarantee I'll have a listen or three....
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
