UPDATE: 2021-03-23 Tightened some of the lyrics, tweaked the chord progression for the pre-choruses, and recorded the whole song again, from scratch. Third remix of the re-recorded song just completed and now streaming.
Soldiers on guard are trained to watch out for the absence of normal. If the normal is the bustling of the market, children playing, old folks chewing the fat on street corner benches…then when these things are missing, there may be trouble ahead…
This new song of mine was inspired by this phrase and is the latest track on my After the Lockdown EP. You can stream it via Soundcloud or stream and download from Bandcamp.
THE ABSENCE OF NORMAL
The lines are cut, not a single word can get through
The dust builds up, covering the world with a desert hue
If flag as rags are burned, don’t blame the former
Stay on the watch, be on your guard for the absence of normal
The streets are still, only a few old souls around
The guards are smoking. Nobody make a sound
If notes and coins are exchanged, it’s nothing formal
The headlights flash, the blast comes fast in the absence of normal
Don’t you see how it goes day after day?
Creature comforts on the breeze, all blown away
You kneel alone attend your prayers, no one to share
Waste no time telling trouble, you’re not the one to care
And yet the time is right, time to play another tune
Blow back the dust, rebuild the past, nothing can come too soon
Freedom on the wing, wonder so informal
Keep up the pace, find your grace in the absence of normal
Won’t you feel how it grows day by day?
Hear the suffering on the wind, all borne away
You stand alone telling us to pray, no one will dare
To check the time, call you out in trouble, like you’d care
Don’t you see how it goes day after day?
Creature comforts on the breeze, all blown away
You kneel alone attend your prayers, no one to share
Waste no time telling trouble, you’re not the one to care
And yet the time is right, time to play another tune
Words and music, instrumentation, vocals, and production dB/