When I recorded this album I had decided to make a collection of songs that I’d written and played to good response at concerts over the years. Some of the pieces were new-ish, some of them had been around for a while. I remember writing this one many years ago. Took me most of the time since then to understand exactly what I think it was about. But what do I know? It’s out there now, so you take from it what you want. I’m good with that.
Like pretty much all of my songs it wasn’t actually about me, although like most of my songs it’s easy to think that ‘me’ is exactly what it’s about. No, it dances around for a while, but this one was for a friend who is now long gone. In the middle of a tough time I remember him saying, as guys sometimes do, “I’ll be alright.” Funny the things some of us go through when we’re younger, things that shape us when we’re older. For some people it’s an affirmation, for others it’s denial. All I really know is that I’ve heard it said a lot over the years. “I’ll be alright.” And sometimes I hear those words in my friend’s voice. I’ve been told other people ‘carry colour’, they can remember what a colour looks like when they’re no longer looking at it. Apparently quarks carry colour too, but I expect that’s different. I’m not great with colour, but I guess I ‘carry sound’. Sometimes stays with me a long time.
the song–>I’ll Be Alright from the CD ‘The Long View’, 2006 (LV001)
I can hear his voice even today. Ah, friend, deeply missed even now. I remember your kindness in so many ways. And spending time on your couch while I tried to figure out exactly what had happened. I passed it on a few times, never explained why. I know some folks thought I was foolish, and yes I know I was taken advantage of more than once. But all I was doing was paying it forward. And that’s just a risk you have to take. Thanks for that. Figure I still owe you. But yeah, I’ll be alright.