Graham,
A really catchy tune.
I found my foot starting to tap soon as you get to the chorus.
I could see a crowd in a bar or at a concert as you perform this, singing right along with you every chorus !!
Nice message as well in the lyrics, so true !
Thanks for sharing. Great song

Jim     

Thanks Ken.

If you look at the song - I made quite a few lyric changes and I'm not sure those are the chords I will use when
and if I ever get the time to record it.  Phill's comments made me think (which is a good thing ! ) about the recovering part
for many who have found love again after such a painful experience, and that's why I changed the last verse.

I think the rhyme scheme is better now as well.  I wish I knew how to play better and actually sing to these words more merit, but I will try to do it a little justice sometime soon.
Thanks for all the comments and perspectives - I appreciate it.
Cheers to you all !
Jim     

Thanks Peatle. (yes, it seems to be the standard bearer for bad relationships)

Thanks for forgiving me Phill ! I didn't intend to bring up hurtful memories, but now after reading your post, I can certainly see how it could.
To make amends, I changed the third verse - so it actually can lead to a second chance - and to find someone again to love
and trust as you have done.  Maybe give a little hope and inspiration that a divorce doesn't have to be an end - but a bridge to a new beginning.
Best wishes to you and Ann on 40 years

Zurf and Mojo and anyone else dealing with such heartache.

I am truly sorry for the unfortunate circumstances you are facing.
I too have faced such situations, losing two of my brothers in the last year and a half.
There isn't much we can do except to try to ease their pain and bring peace to our own mind.
I think this is an appropriate line - one that I came across in my situation that sticks in my mind.

" Wherever a beautiful soul has been, no matter that they are gone
there's always a trail of beautiful memories that we can look back upon"

It's good to have our "chordie family", where the compassion and care we share is  as
righteous as the music we write and play.

Cheers and best wishes to you all
Jim     

Peatle and Phill

I was admiring how clever you boys are...... and then

I looked at the title of this post....  that's when I lost it -if i had been eating custard - it would have been a mess as well
too funny !!

Jim     

Thanks Peatle
Every young generation thinks they are invincible.
Part of the learning of life.

Appreciate the kind words.
Sending my best to you and Maree

CHEERS !
Jim     

Peatle

Excellent !

I quite agree with Ken   that line is superbly brilliant !!

"His words have power.

A magnet.

A fishing net.

Fishing net made of words.

Drawing his audience into his boat.  "

Way to go my friend !
Jim     

Thanks Ken.     

Ken,

Good question, and Phill got it exactly right. ( at least in my head. )

I can think of many instances of people that never got the chance to achieve their dreams b/c some establishment type obstacle thwarted them.
Two that comes to mind right away were Robert Kennedy and Martin L. King, Jr, in their cases, by  an assassin's bullet.
I think many young African American Musicians in the early years of the music industry who were robbed of their songs and $.
People that have spoken out on civil rights issues, whose ideas somehow get buried in the media or social prison ( I think of the women's rights movement)
Or more commonly, just a teenager that wants their own identity, wanting to break away from the authority of their parents, school rules, or other social norms. 
(I know that there were many times I did stuff that I hoped and prayed that my Mom never found out about.   )
Try to understand the kid that doesn't want to work the farm, or go to college, but wants to follow there dream of being an artist or musician.
( or someone telling Beamer to only play classical music, instead of METAL    )
So this song just comes down to basically a young person being rebellious, and not wanting to be stifled in what they wanted to do or say.

As for that the last line in the first verse, it means ( at least in my head) that the young person would achieve that freedom before they get old and change-
and end up being part of the establishment. Thus the line before it - want to break the mold.  (I think Pete Townsend wrote those famous words - " Hope I die before I get old! ")
The world would never have progress if there weren't dreamers that break tradition.
(Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly come to mind, musically) 

My brother told me a story once about a little girl who was watching her mom cook a roast beef.  The mother cut the ends off the beef and threw them away  and then proceeded to cook it. The little girl asked why she did that.   The mom said because that's the way her mother did it and it always tastes great.   The next week the little girl visited her grandmother and told her what her mother said, and asked her why she cut the ends off the roast beef.  Grandmother replied, b/c that's the way my mother did it and it always tasted great. The next week the little girl got to visit her great grandma. Sure enough she asked her, " Great grandma, My mommy and her mommy both cut the ends of the roast beef before they cook it and throw them away. They said it's b/c that's the way you did it. Can you tell me why ?  " 
Grandma smiled at her great granddaughter and said , " Sure, it wouldn't fit in the only pan I had".
 

This is just another reaffirmation that a song can be interpreted many ways.

Thanks for all the interest and the way you performed it. Hope this clears it up.

Jim

Ken
Thank you so much, that is really fantastic.
It's amazing how someone can turn the way a song is written
into something quite different that what they thought it was going to be.

It happens more often than we think.  There are many versions of songs we know and love.
While I had this song in my head as a country rock, or bluesy type song, I was amazed how nice it sounded and flowed the way you did it.

It's funny too, a couple of the lyric changes you made were exactly how I had written them but had changed them for some reason.

I know that Graham had said he might do a copy of it when his voice gets better which would be a true blues version that he is really good at.

I can't wait for Beamer to give his rendition as a " Metalized" version. Should be quite a contrast 

This kind of reminds me of how we used to have the FSOTM (Featured Song of the Month) here on chordie where someone would choose a song and a lot of members would do their own version.  It was quite fantastic

I always encourage any of our members to use my songs and make any changes necessary.

Phill is a Godsend here on chordie for many of us - he has had such a terrific way of helping me with my songs ( and others) .
I probably would have stopped writing a long time ago if not for him.

That's what makes Chordie so great.  What a collection of superb musicians (except for me    ) and composers of so many various genres - yet all support and encourage each other.  If only the world operated the same way.

Thanks again Ken.

Jim

P.S.  and I agree with Peatle - it really does have that John Denver feel to it. 
It didn't occur to me at first, but after Peatle pointed that out and I listened again, I certainly got it.