BJ Barham's band American Aquarium are back with a new album, The Fear of Standing Still, and as has become customary, he's not pulling any punches...
I watched my father put his father in the ground
Without a single solitary tear falling down
On the car ride home I remember asking why
He said, "It's simple, son, you're born, you live a little, then you die
Crying ain't gonna bring them back, it's just a waste of time"
My grandmother made it all the way to 93
She saw countless wars, electric cars and colour TV
But then I start to think about all the family and friends
She lost, and how lonely it must have been there at the end
And that's one race to the finish, I'm betting no one wants to win
And the curse of growing old
Is watching everything you love and know
Bloom, die and fade away
The only thing more terrifying
Than coming face to face with dying
Is learning there's a price we all must pay for another day
So the only time I ever saw my father cry
Daytona 01, the day that Senior died*
It's safe to say that was the day that he finally saw
That no star burns forever, eventually they must fall
Raise hell, praise Dale, death is coming for us all
And the curse of growing old
Is watching everything you love and know
Bloom, die and fade away
The only thing more terrifying
Than coming face to face with dying
Is learning there's a price we all must pay for another day
That price is change
Unavoidable change
(*Senior is American stock car racing driver Dale Earnhardt who died in a crash on February 18, 2001. It's not necessary to know that to be affected by this song, but I had the question and now I know the answer.)
This artist is new to me but I liked what I heard. Probably one of the finest lyrics in these days. Thank you Rol for introducing this gem.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Walter. If you dig back through their work, you'll find BJ writes a lot of songs like this.
DeleteBlimey. One hell of a lyric.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the kind that stops you in your tracks.
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