This story is dedicated to my vocal coach, Kimberly.

Click the blue links below to play my song:

Hang On – Piano Melody

Hang On Arrangement 12-20-17

Hang On Acoustic 1-8-18

Hang On Vocal 1-2-18

HANG ON INSTRUMENTAL

 LINK TO PART 1 OF THIS STORY:

#257 HANG ON – PART 1

–

 –

HANG ON

It feels so dark; the sky is gray

Nothing to live for, you cannot pray

You have no hope; is this the end?

Just take my hand; I’ll be your friend

I’ve been there, too – I must explain

Because I’ve suffered I feel your pain

You don’t know how you will survive

You even wonder why you’re alive

Hang on; love is never gone

Though it feels like night

Let love shine a light

One day, your pain will go away

Love will lift you up

Love will always stay

Your eyes show, your heart is broken

There’s so much pain; it’s unspoken

You’re without hope; it’s crushed your soul

There was no reason and no control

Hang on; strength can be drawn

Though you are numb

Do not succumb

One day, your pain will go away

Love will lift you up

Love will always stay 

 My wish for you is no more pain

Then just love would remain

Hang on for a day will dawn

Different than before

But you’ll smile once more

On that day, your pain has gone away

Love lifted you up

Love will always stay

Hang on . . . hang on . . . hang on . . .

–––

Blue flowers? I wanted to adorn this story with images that had unusual colors. Love is beautiful and lives on. But there is no beauty when a soul is amputated. It is ugliness beyond description.

Two months ago, I began arranging my song “Hang On” for a second time. While I was working on this song, my mother’s health took a turn for the worse.

Two weeks before she died, I felt it was no accident that I was living through “Hang On.” My song definitely helped me cope. I imagined that “Judy of the Future” was singing my song to me.

I listened carefully and fully appreciated the words of, “One day your pain will go away.”

–

When I created this image while my mother was dying, I did not notice that the patterns on the wings resembled skulls.

A year ago, I began taking lessons with Kimberly Haynes. There was no question that working with Kimberly had a huge impact upon my singing ability. I was astonished by my improvement.

My voice really changed and I felt compelled to redo all of my song vocals. For a year now, that has been my focus.

Learning about singing and vocal editing was wonderful, but tiring. At the age of 54, sometimes reality sets in and I’m not sure that my voice is good enough for my songs.  

I made the decision not long ago to hire Kimberly to sing this new version of Hang On. Sadly, our recording session was cancelled when she received awful news that her husband’s cancer had returned.

For me, the darkness of an ocean with a setting sun is a metaphor for grief. The blackness reminds me of my own endless depth of pain after my child died. Floating through the waves and the current of time was also part of a parable I wrote to describe my grief journey. I named that poem “My Tears Filled an Ocean” and below is a link to it.

#142 BESIDE ME ALWAYS – PART 2

I am thinking of Kimberly and saying prayers for her and her family.