Old Song New: Paint the Windows Black

This weekend I recorded a song I wrote about 35 years ago. It is a near word for word account of a conversation with a woman who immigrated from Europe to small town New England, where she grew old but never felt accepted. It is the sort of conversation I have had many times since. It is also the kind of sadness and aloneness that I have felt at times, and I suspect you have too. I hope the song reminds us that the people we are apt to overlook are the ones who might need us most.

Other notes about the song: This is my first month playing viola, and my first time playing it on a recording. It was fun doing the string arrangements but not sure if I will keep them. There are a number of ironic elements to the song, not just the lyrics, (Ie a woman in her sixties, which does not seem old anymore, cranking up heavy metal music as a means of keeping neighbors away) but also the melody, a major upward jaunty riff with words of sadness over them. I hope to enjoy the song and I’d love your thoughts.

words and lyrics by Robert Willis 1987