a word from "mr.T"

The following lyrics are from an excellent Judy Collins song that I have a live tape of, which I cannot bear to listen too because it chokes me up everytime, but I was able to get through the lyrics today with only a minimum tear or two. All you have to do is substitute a few words like clare for Seattle, Pine trees for Apricot Orchard trees, and it really applies.I hope Judy (and her publisher ) don't mind.

Secret Gardens
Words and Music by Judy Collins
Universal Music Corp. (ASCAP)/ Rocky Mountain National Park Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
(Administered by Universal Music Corp.)

My grandmother's house is still there
But it isn't the same
A plain wooden cottage
A patch of brown lawn
And a fence that hangs standing
And sighing in the Seattle rain (Clare County rain?)

I drive by with strangers
And wish they could see what I see
A tangle of summer birds
Flying in sunlight
A forest of lillies ( mosquitos? hahaha)
An orchard of apricot trees (a forest of pine trees?)

Secret Gardens of the heart
Where the flowers bloom forever
I see you shining through the night
In the ice and snow of winter

Great grandfather's farm is still there (Paul Noss's farm?)
But it isn't the same
The barn is torn down (burned down? hahaha)
And the fences are gone (drive way is gone?)

The Idaho wind blows (Michigan wind blows) The topsoil away every Spring (the snow away every Spring?)


I still see the ghosts (this verse really gets to me!)
Of the people I knew long ago
Inside the old kitchen
They bend and sigh
My life passed them up
And the world passed them by

Secret Gardens of the heart
Where the old stay young forever
I see you shining through the night
In the ice and snow of winter

But most of all
It is me that has changed
And yet I'm still the same
That's me at the weddings
That's me at the graves
Dressed like the people
Who once looked so grown-up and brave

I look in the mirror
Throught the eyes of the child that was me
I see willows bending
The season is Spring
And the silver blue sailing birds
Fly with the sun on their wings

Secret Gardens of the heart
Where dreams live on forever
I see you shining through the night
In the ice and snow of winter

Wildflower Records
WWW.JUDYCOLLINS.COM

posted by mr.T