FAWM: "On St. Valentine's Day"

On St. Valentine's Day

1 week ago by @jeff9

Liner Notes

#acousticonetake #singersongwriter #valentine
Came up with this yesterday for @unknownbecky 's Friday song circle today where our prompt was to write with inspiration from something visual like a painting, photo, etc. Couldn't resist V-Day worming its way into things when I thought about a picture of my wife from back in our high school days. The rest is just made up, including her being gone.

Lyrics

On St. Valentine’s Day

V1
My family sharing photos ‘round a table at a bar
And me, well I’ve been out of touch a while
They picked today for us to get together and do this
I’ll listen to the stories everybody misremembers
And then add one picture to the pile

V2
It’s one your mother gave me at a wake not long ago
You were sixteen in your drill team uniform
Five years before we married, two before we fell in love
And fifty one before you slipped away to be with God
Still feels like I’m sailing through a storm

CH1
Then when I lay it down they all get quiet
I can tell they’re looking at me for a clue for what to say
There’s just something in my eye, no I’m not crying
I always just get misty anyway…
On St. Valentine’s Day

V3
All of us are at an age when this is how it goes
So we raise our glasses high to absent friends
May happiness be with you now and bless you evermore
We toast like we’re half Irish and let the whiskey burn
A brotherly communion for our sins

CH2
We put our glasses down and all get quiet
Thinking next time which of us will be the one who’s slipped away
If you were here you wouldn’t let us be like this
Or let it hurt as much anyway…
On St. Valentine’s Day

BR
You were tough as nails
But with a soft spot in your heart
You saved every one of my sappy Hallmark cards
Just to remind us
To keep alive our our spark
With you, believe me, that wasn’t hard

CH3
Driving home I marvel at the quiet
That photo’s in my wallet now where it’s gonna stay
Cupid used an arrow that’s why love hurts so much
I think that once a year anyway
On St. Valentine’s Day

Comments

@jeffdesantis 1w

Your lyrics are just great. Heartbreaking, and amazing.

@nancycunning 1w

Jeff - this one hits just as hard the second time. I’m so glad to hear your wife is alive and well. I love it that the picture is from the real world and that the loss is imagined. Using Saint Valentine’s day is a beautiful touch. Makes me think of the song On St. Crispin’s Day - I think Billy Bragg. Love how the family meets in a bar and also the way you explicitly identify that Irish blessing feel.

@billwhite51 1w

When you sing "We toast like we’re half Irish and let the whiskey burn" I imagine you singing this in a pub filled with drunks who cry in their whiskey jars and sing long withthe chorus. You sing the song as if about to fall of the very edge of sorry, and although you are lucky to still have your wife, I feel a dramatic sense of loss throughout the song. Im sure you have, as have I, lost many a friend down these hard traveled roads. I love this song and raise my glass to it and to those left behind.