My best friend Ronnie White made this papier mache “stargazer” guy a few years ago, and he has haunted me ever since… I thought he would be the perfect image for this song.
TWILIGHT
A friend of mine threw a 60thbirthday party for her dad.
It began as a simple family celebration and evolved into a sobering but beautiful reckoning.
Before the candles and the cake, her father stood. He wanted to get a few things on record while he had everyone together.
He proceeded to apologize for what he considered his failures in his kids’ lives:
The divorce, lots of career uncertainty and change, hubris, infidelities, lies.
He introduced his new love - a man - without apology, and then shared his recent cancer diagnosis.
He said what mattered most, now that time might not allow for lengthy resolutions, was that they all know how deeply he loved them. He was far from perfect. He was sorry. He hoped they could forgive him. But he loved them. He would always love them. Could they hold on to that?
It’s a lot. My friend was overwhelmed, and yet emotionally relieved. No more secrets, and finally the bare, messy bones of it all. It certainly takes the anger out of the room.
Twilight – “I love you, not perfectly, not well…” - leapt on to the page the morning after I heard this story,.
Here are the lyrics:
TWILIGHT
Tell me something sweet that I'll remember
Look me in the eye when twilight comes
Hold me, we'll reminisce about September
Laughing, as my light fades in to December
We can pick a sign, a secret signal
Simple by design, so we’ll both know
Maybe a shooting star off Jupiter
Or pennies in a wishing well, a puppet in the rain
I love you, not perfectly, not well
But I love you, and I'm leaving soon, so fare thee well
I love you, so let that be the story that you tell
Maybe now’s the time to ask forgiveness
I will beg for yours and I’ll leave you mine
Weaving a tapestry of things unspoken
We’ll lay it down at the feet of all the promises we’ve broken
Take from me my best, how I adore you
Leave behind the liar and the cheat
Promise that kindness is the legacy you’ll
Carry, like a hand-me-down until we meet again
I love you, not perfectly, not well
But I love you, and I'm leaving soon, so fare thee well
I love you, so let that be the story that you tell
No one sees it coming
We run away, we hide away, we never say
But love keeps humming
Today, today, today
I love you, not perfectly, not well
But I love you, and I'm leaving soon, so fare thee well
I love you, so let that be the story that you tell
Tell me something sweet that I'll remember
Look me in the eye when twilight comes
Xo
JB
