meet me in the forest / 1:33 pm

I recently finished writing a new song called "Meet Me In the Forest." Here are the lyrics:

Tonight we will meet by the forest to see

the moon rise up and over

the snow-capped hills and trees.

Let us walk blindly and hold hands so tightly;

mitten yarn and ancient stars

will keep us safe and warm.

and I will tell you stories I learned when I was young(er)-

the lullabies, the arms, the sky

that taught my heart to love, love.

The fox will hide, the rabbit will run

leaving tracks for sentences;

we'll read them one by one.

And when our legs grow weary, our sleep too much to carry,

we'll lay our heads upon a bed

of last year's leaves to rest.

will you sing me every song you carry me in your soul?

send every word and melody 

to settle in my bones, bones.

And someday we may not remember

the right words to recall time and place.

Promise me you'll meet me in the forest,

promise me you'll come back to this place.

It is a song of both sadness and comfort. One of my fears is forgetting memories, forgetting the past and not being able to hold on to those I love most, so the lyrics are very personal. 

The verses supply imagery for the song with the goal of of creating a peaceful scene of a forest surrounded by hills, untouched snow, the moon and stars... a safe and beautiful place. The first chorus mentions lullabies, arms, and sky. The lullabies and arms represent my parents and the love they gave me as a child (and continue to give me). The sky represents another part of my childhood-- climbing trees, playing outside, being free. The second chorus is directed toward Adam but also toward anybody I love very much. When I love someone, I find myself wanting to know every little thing about them... what makes them who they are, what they have experienced whether good or bad. The question, "Will you sing me every song you carry in your soul?" is meant to convey the need to get to know someone on a very close, very deep level and the need to know that person so well that their stories, their songs become a part of you as well.

The last four lines are where the sadness and comfort of the song meet. As I mentioned, I am afraid of losing memories and people, of forgetting. This could be caused by something as terrible as Alzheimer's and dementia or something as natural as old age and the passing of time. My hope is that if I or anyone I love should lose the ability to describe our memories in words, we can at least go back in our minds and find other ways to recall the past. The forest symbolizes the memories, the place in our minds where we can go back and relive the past.  "Promise me you'll meet me in the forest" is actually a promise that, even if we can no longer speak of memories coherently, we will still be remembering them.... we will figuratively and mentally meet at a place that is special and sacred to both of us.