Writing Life

A periodic record of thoughts and life as these happen via the various roles I play: individual, husband, father, grandfather, son, brother (brother-in-law), writer, university professor and others.

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Location: Tennessee, United States

I was born on Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, South Carolina, then lived a while in Fayetteville, North Carolina, before moving, at the age of 5, to Walnut, NC. I graduated from Madison High School in 1977. After a brief time in college, I spent the most of the 1980s in Nashville, Tennessee, working as a songwriter and playing in a band. I spent most of the 1990s in school and now teach at a university in Tennessee. My household includes wife and son and cat. In South Carolina I have a son, daughter-in-law and two granddaughters.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Into the West: Prelude (A Musical Interlude)

Dizzy from the Distance

I'm running through a pastel desert,
And that ol' sun is straining hard sending the heat down—
Bleaching all bright colors from the land and the living things
For miles and miles around.
The only sounds are the whining of my wheels on the highway
And the roaring of the wind in my ears.
This whole scene is looking like a painting of my life,
A painting of my life when you're not here—
And I'm dizzy from the distance.

Well, I watched you take the dive
Into that sea of light, and you never once came up for air.
So I put my number in a bottle, tossed it, and then I turned
And I got away from there.
Sometimes you're on the line to say you miss me
When the frantic boomtown rhythm has nigh driven you to tears.
In this western quiet I am reaching out for you,
Still reaching out for you when you're not here—
And I'm dizzy from the distance
Fallen in between us—
I'm dizzy from the distance
Fallen in between us.

I stand on a windy ledge,
These empty arms outstretched;
I'm calling out your name,
And the echo is promising a change
Gonna come around someday . . . someday.

Well, I'm late to meet the morning train,
With a broken rose in hand, red-faced and out of breath.
Must've been some bad connection down the line;
The train pulls out, and I am left.
And I wonder why love comes in pieces hard to put together,
With directions that are anything but clear.
From the station to the highway through that desert in the night—
There's a desert in the night when you're not here—
And I'm dizzy from the distance
Fallen in between us—
I'm dizzy from the distance
Fallen in between us.


244.0 NWT

3 Comments:

Blogger Ruth W. said...

enjoyed the song very much..

7/19/2006  
Blogger Dennis and Marie said...

I enjoyed the song very much. Have also enjoyed your blog. Being from the midwest I've enjoyed reading about your upcoming adventures. As the story goes in Grinnell, IA: Horace Greeley told JB Grinnell "Go West, young man, go West" We will keep you in our prayers for a safe journey. Marie

7/19/2006  
Blogger Dennis and Marie said...

Hi Michael, The song is GREAT. Can I get a copy? Dennis

7/19/2006  

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