This Song's For You

Dear all,

The CMA recap is coming in the next post.  It somehow doesn't seem right to be in this one.

A few months ago, I mentioned the estimable, incomparable, formidable, venerable, and exceptional Pat Burns.  I said that I wanted to write him a song, for what he brought to our lives and to ensure that his achievements will never be forgotten.  And I said that I wanted to finish it as soon as possible.  Well, I got about four verses and a changing chorus, but it didn't seem right.  It didn't seem to come from the heart.   And it certainly felt false to be writing a song in which the last verse is singing to a dead man, when he wasn't.  Until Friday.  And so, this is my "thank you for everything, we love you, Pat Burns" post. 

I also said I wanted it to be perfect.

So, in order to achieve that, I threw out the three pages that I had.  And started from scratch, forgetting everything that I had written before so that I could truly make it heartfelt and perfect and written with love and true gratitude.  I'm not saying that it's good compared to any Taylor Swift song, but for what I want it to say, I think it's appropriate.

For those who don't know, Pat Burns died (that's hard to write) on Friday, November 19th, after a six-year battle with cancer.  He was 58 years old.  But one thing that he would not have wanted was to dwell on the sadness (even though I've cried almost three times a day since I first heard the news).  So, to focus on the highlights, he achieved his biggest dream on June 9, 2003, when his New Jersey Devils beat the Anaheim Mighty Ducks to win the Stanley Cup.  Prior to this, he won the Jack Adams' Coach of the Year Trophy three times, with three different teams (the Montreal Canadiens, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Boston Bruins), which is a National Hockey League record.  He won a career total of 501 games as a  head coach - a remarkable number in and of itself, yet one that illustrates wordlessly how his brilliant career was cut far too short, because it should have been higher.

He took no prisoners as a head coach, and he certainly showed that same fight while trying to beat cancer.

This Song's For You

it's hard for me to imagine someone who doesn't know your name
or someone who can't attest to your passion for the game
because the character you had all but filled up the room
and so to commemorate that, this song's for you

your specific brand of candour made the world wait the bated breath
because we couldn't wait to hear just what you'd say next
you made it to the top no matter what you set your mind to
because you amaze me, this song's for you

CHORUS:
you packed two lifetimes into fifty-eight years
now I'm on the other end, choking back tears
I know you wouldn't want us to be sad after the hero falls
you'd rather we be happy that he lived at all
but like other heroes, forgive me if I'm wrong,
you lived the kind of life that should be immortalised in song

there's a quiet kind of resolve in your iron-willed spirit
that's matched by your booming voice and what you say with it
you can fight with words but you can kick some ass, too
and to continue your fight, this song's for you

CHORUS:
you packed two lifetimes into fifty-eight years
now I'm on the other end, choking back tears
I know you wouldn't want us to be sad after the hero falls
you'd rather we be happy that he lived at all
but like other heroes, forgive me if I'm wrong,
you lived the kind of life that should be immortalised in song

BRIDGE:
I watched you from afar
I admired all that you are
and you opened my eyes to the beauty of life
you held yourself with such grace
and put pretenders in their place
and there was so much elegance in the way that you died

how can a person fade when his presence in life was so strong
the world's a little less colourful, now that you're gone
as you were in life, so shall you be in death, too
I know it's not much, but this song's for you

CHORUS:
you packed two lifetimes into fifty-eight years
now I'm on the other end, choking back tears
I know you wouldn't want us to be sad after the hero falls
you'd rather we be happy that he lived at all
but like other heroes, forgive me if I'm wrong,
you lived the kind of life that should be immortalised in song

it's hard for me to imagine someone who doesn't know your name
or someone who can't attest to your passion for the game
I know it's not much, but this song's for you
I love you so much, Coach, this song's for you...

I still find it remarkable that, after having battled with every word and every phrase with the last version of this song, this version flowed and came out in the space of about an hour and a half.  I guess if there's something to be said, it'll come out all on its own.

I also want it recorded that I came up with the idea behind this song (including the title) in late February/early March, so that's far before the Joey + Rory song of the same name came out.  No copyright infringements.

Much love, and thank you Pat Burns,

Just Another Ordinary Girl

p.s. I thought I would introduce a new item on my posts, and that is their ending with a Taylor Swift lyric.  After my recapitulation of Speak Now, I figured that it's too hard to pick just a few lines here and there, and so I decided to feature a little bit of [real] country music songwriting in each post.  And perhaps not always necessarily just Taylor Swift.  So, that's what's new.

Long live all the magic we made, and bring on all the pretenders; I'm not afraid.  Long live all the mountains we moved, I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you.