Home

In August 2008, I moved away from the hustle and bustle of Seattle to go to college at Washington State University, in rural Pullman in eastern Washington. The change was drastic, but welcome. On my first visit home for Thanksgiving week, I made the rounds visiting everyone I hadn't seen in several months. I was floored that, as I went around town, it felt almost as though I had never left. Everything I saw felt as though I had seen it just the day before. Later, I decided I wanted to write about the sensation, and the song was written within an hour. There are some occasions where a song just writes itself, and this is one of them.
(Written April 8, 2009)

It's been a long ride.
I thought I'd never make it,
Never see the place
I once called home again.

It's been a long time.
I haven't seen familiar faces,
All the ones I've loved,
since I don't know when.

When I'm home again,
I see my friends and family.
I give them all a hug and kiss,
And then a couple more.

Walking round town,
My childhood comes flying back,
Unfolding like a play I've seen
a thousand times before.

Every sight and every sound
of every step I take
Takes me back to yesterday.
Feels like yesterday.
Yet it's been so long.

What'll happen to these memories
Ten or twenty years into the future?
Will they live on?
Or will they be gone?

I see a blue sky.
I thank the Lord for this moment,
Cause I know that pretty soon,
It's gonna rain.

I know it too well.
And even when it's raining,
I know that soon,
the sun will break again.

It's so wonderful,
No matter what we're feeling,
There's a time, a place, a song, a hope,
For all of us to share.

Wherever we go,
Wherever life will take us to,
There'll always be a home for us,
and loved ones waiting there.

Every sight and every sound
of every step I take
Reminds me of yesterday,
The love of yesterday,
And from now on.

What'll happen to these memories
About a hundred years into the future?
They will live on.
Even when we're gone.