Moved to Tears (Moonlit Ballad)

Cherry

By Caldwell

Sat, 01 Mar 2025
  • 330 reads
4 comments
 

Yesterday I was entranced by Dean Dyson, a famous busker on Guildford's cobbled high street, with his smooth yet rasping vocal and a simple acoustic guitar. He sang a mixture of classics and his own stuff and we chatted and for the first time I allowed myself to stand and listen to a couple of songs when I usually just walk past. I bought his CD. I don't even have a CD player but wanted to show willing and support him.

When I woke this morning, I had a whole chorus in my head for a song with a story behind it. Amazing. I am sure Dean inspired it somehow. He's more of a Beatles, Johnny Cash guy so when we chatted I didn't mention Bowie but for some reason it was Bowie who was at the forefront of my mind and that must be why the two melded together.

I fleshed out the lyrics just now. I don't have a tune but I think something like Lewis Capaldi's "Someone you loved" would fit the bill.

 

(Verse 1)
They called me a hero, a prince of the sky,
With stars in my eyes, I kissed her goodbye.
Promised I’d bring back the light of the moon,
But distance can turn a heartbeat to stone.

(Pre-Chorus)
Weightless above, but heavy inside,
Floating so far from the love in her eyes.

(Chorus)
I couldn’t blame her, I wasn’t here,
She'd moved away and I was moved to tears.
The world kept turning, but I stood still,
Lost in the silence, lost in the thrill.

(Verse 2)
Touched down to banners, a hero’s parade,
The world threw confetti, but love threw its shade.
I searched through the faces, but hers wasn't there,
Found just a letter, a kiss in the air.

(Pre-Chorus)
Weightless above, but heavy inside,
The void in my chest was too deep to hide.

(Chorus)
I couldn’t blame her, I wasn’t here,
She'd moved away and I was moved to tears.
The world kept turning, but I stood still,
Lost in the silence, lost in the thrill.

(Bridge)
I wrote her name in the dust on my glove,
Carved out a heart in the stars up above.
But space is too cold to hold onto the past,
And gravity’s cruel when you’re falling this fast.

(Final Chorus)
I couldn’t blame her, I wasn’t here,
She’d found another, and I disappeared.
The world kept turning, I fell behind,
Left with the echoes of love lost in time.

(Outro)
So I look to the sky, where I used to belong,
And whisper her name like a half-finished song.

Certificate U
Poem
Lyrics
Romance

Comments

Submitted by Turlough on

This is great. You've got caught some really good lines to describe contradictions between what he, she and the world were doing.

Putting words to music, or vice versa, is an incredible talent that I wish I had.

I tried reading this whilst simultaneouslly listening to 'Someone You Loved' but I couldn't get it to click because Lewis Capaldi insisted on singing his own words over it. But I get what you mean. 

And good on you for supporting the buskers. 

Turlough

Submitted by airyfairy on

Lovely bit of work. As Turlough says, putting words and music together is a real skill.

Yes, support buskers! As the mother of someone who has often supplemented/earned his entire income from busking - support buskers! They may owe their mother this month's rent. Seriously, there is often so much talent out there. And a decreasing number of small local venues where musicians can start out. Lovely to know that a busker sparked this piece off in you.

Submitted by Tom Brown on

When sleeping it must be really amazing to wake up with all that in your head. That would take true genius. Sometimes you wake up with the solution of a mathematics problem that you've been battling with, the solution in your head. This I know from experience it is actualy not rare at all.

For chess it doesn't work, chess dreams are extremely frustrating.

See you! Tom

 

Submitted by celticman on

Clydebank has a number of buskers. I include them, perhaps unfairly, in my beggars per square mile head count. When I was wee there was none. Now there's a fight to be number 1, on the bridge across the canal to the shopping centre.