Dan Patterson and I began writing a lot of songs together. We began one summer at Camp Undulata. We usually had time in the morning to create, while the campers were with the counselors who taught them how to ride. This was one of the first songs. I don't really remember. I know that I was inspired by having written a letter to a girl that I had a crush on before the summer. She finally wrote back, and it wasn't reciprocal. Still, instead of being crushed, I was strangely happy. I had been so nervous, and scared, and the worst had happened, and the world hadn't ended.
At any rate, Dan and I sat in a Cabin and we began to turn the chords into a song. I think the rain idea was influenced by the fact that in the cabin protected only from the elements by screens, you could literally feel the rain. So if you were sad, and it was raining, you felt the rain and the sadness as one.
This song really has a rich history, because Dan and I played it with John Weiss when at showcase for my junior year. By that point we were in a band (Downpour, see above). I think this is what the song might have sounded like if we'd practiced more than once a week for an hour and a half. In addition to not practicing, we didn't always agree on the direction of the band. This was the song that kind of started our band. See, Dan and I recorded us playing this song, and played it for John, and he really liked it, which was a bit peculiar, because John was into hardcore.
While there's nothing particularly brilliant about this song, there's something about it that resonates decades later. I don't think it's nostalgia, but that may play a part. The first time I rediscovered the song was when I was living with my band Satori. It had been a challenging year. I was living in a log cabin addition with no heat. I remember sleeping with a wool cap on my head. My relationship with my girlfriend at the time was tumultuous, and I had discovered that the other guys in the band were going back to school, and no one had bothered to tell me.
Well, I had a four track, and I began recording a bunch of songs, and this ended up being one of them. Something about the rediscovery brought me back to that point when I was 15. The song always finds me in moments, where I need to move from a sad place to a happy place. It found me again this Summer as I rediscovered it. Something about the last chorus lifts me out of the rain. I hope it brings as much joy to you as it has to me.
Four In the Morning (C) by Dewey Kincade and Dan Patterson
It's four o'clock in the morning,
As the rain falls down,
I can see it gently falling,
As I look across the town,
The rain is gently tapping,
Against my window pain,
I can here her quietly calling,
Calling out my name
Rain on me,
Let the rain fall on me,
Rain on me,
Let the rain fall on me.
My mind begins to meander,
On days gone by,
Laying upon my bed,
No strength to even try,
I wonder why I failed,
To make the right choice,
It pains me to think,
Of the sound of her voice
Rain on me,
Let the rain fall on me,
Rain on me,
Let the rain fall on me.
The rain is waning and the clouds begin to lift,
My thoughts of yesterday,
Begin to drift,
As I look outside my window,
The clouds are gone,
The sun beckons me,
To search on
Shine on me,
Let the sun shine on me,
Shine on me,
Let the sun shine on me.
No comments:
Post a Comment