The Foundation
©2009 Stephen R Coffee
A personal favorite, a mood song about one of those "side of the road" experiences.
I never would have known it was out there
With the tall grass grown up all around
If I hadn’t wondered about those flowers
Every time I drove to town
And I was driving into town
And if today I hadn’t stopped here
Left my car out by the road
And walked out into this old hayfield
To see if those were really roses
Who would have planted roses?
Then shining like a dinosaur bone
A rectangle of neatly laid stone
I’ve walked into the ghost of someone’s home
A broken step up to the south side
I stand where once there was a door
A woman calls the kids to supper
A wee one scoots across the floor
One or two centuries before
Of course they would have planted roses
To help mark every special day
Pinned to the bosom of a fair bride
Left on a mantle, or a grave
Where would I have dug a grave?
And there’s not a trace of timber to be found
Just rows of limestone slowly wearing down
And these stubborn roses pushing back the ground
I see my shadow getting long now
Soon my footprints will be gone
What have I built what have I planted?
Ah, but I'm the one who travels on
And so I walk back to the highway
Just once more I look around
I always wondered about those flowers
Every time I drove to town
Better get on into town
More songs for your listening pleasure:
Alice
Soundtrack of one man's journey through the Australian Outback
The Impossible Sky
Ruth finds beauty in a harsh environment. From Rain Follows the Plow
Indian Joe
Where are your people? From Rain Follows the Plow
Maria
A lonely voice from the borderlands
Deepwater Requiem
Epic folk tale treatment of the Horizon disaster
To the Light
Close encounters with the past--and the inevitable future
Castle of Thorns
The distance between here and there
Going to the Ukraine
Those Ukraine girls make me scream and holler.
Praise the Drugs and Pass the Ammunition
Regarding the War on Sanity
Mert's Mix
An appetizing Okie Rap
The Writing on the Wall
Song and video about visiting my dad's old home place.
Guantanamo
Still relevant, eighteen years later