House Of Cards

I lived this song. I started writing this a few months ago. Before Wormtown. The first verse came to me in the shower. I started writing the song but I thought it was too similar to "Contact"[Jan. '10] and stopped working on it.  Next day hop in the shower and verse two comes. I started working on it again but the song again stalled. I moved on, but I wasn't happy about it.
Secret Sage decided to do the Wizard of Oz for Halloween. We dressed like the characters, learned some of the music, and slipped references into our usual repertoire. The second verse of "House Of Cards" references Oz and the gears began to turn again. We didn't end up using it for the Halloween Bash but I knew I had an October tune.
I still didn't know where to take the song. With a hurricane headed right for the east coast it began to take shape. A good man I know took his own life. When we lost Jaime a few years back I wrote a song that opened with "I'm blown away..." It's that sentiment. I'm still blowing away. Ripped away from where I stood. Caught completely off balance.
The first two verses are about my own struggle to hold my ground. Then this terrible news came. What was written after that the narrative changed. In the song I've lost my footing. I'm tumbling in the wind. In my life my feet are still planted. I have healthy children. I have a strong marriage. Music in my everyday. The effort of maintaining these blessing presents me with quality problems.
He lived right up the hill across the street from the barber shop. He would open up to me about his life. He told me how much he loved playing his guitar. How much it helped. I told him all the time if he ever needed to step away for a minute to come down the hill with his guitar. He never did. I wish he had. Music saves my life all the time.

For Luke Lacaire

House Of Cards