When I was a kid, we had several groves of trees near the house; a cluster of trees on open prairie landscape is like an oasis in the Sahara. Trees are the lifeblood of farm kids.
Strangely though, I was also drawn to a lone tree that stood at the end of a half-mile cornfield. I would walk to it sometimes and sit in its shade. I was thinking of that old friend when I wrote this song (click on title to listen).
Searching for mercy on a broken, blacktop road
Somewhere in Missouri, summer hung low
I pulled off from drivin’ and sat behind the wheel
I saw on the horizon, a lone tree in a field
Something there drew me, I walked that quarter mile
Something there soothed me, I stood there for awhile
And out there in the open, in a voice I hardly knew
I said, “Do you get lonely, like I do?”
I should have felt foolish, I should have looked around
I’m not one to do this, I knelt on the ground
“I don’t know where I’m goin’ how to get through,
do you get lonely, like I do?”
No birds have nested in your branches
No initials carved for young romances
Your leaves are sparse, no fruit you bear
Is your heart too bruised to care?
Shadows grew longer till none were left
Nighttime came on in blue silhouette
Some questions are answered when they are posed
And so I dreamed my way back to the road
It’s been years, it’s history to me
But I wouldn’t be here without the mystery of trees
Never would I have spoken what’s true:
do you get lonely like I do?
Until July 23, when my Kickstarter completes, I am posting new and old material every day.
I have a new record coming out soon. You can pre-order it here: Kingdom of Summer.