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Great songs with amazing stories. A perfect blend of rock, folk and a dash of twang for flavor.
Song Info
Genre
Charts
Peak #1,918
Peak in subgenre #419
Author
Karlton Coffin
Rights
2008
Uploaded
July 01, 2008
Track Files
MP3
MP3 4.8 MB • 128 kbps • 5:13
Story behind the song
This was one of those stories that totally wrote itself. Almost literally, even. My wife and I were reading our daughter a book one night, and she started really getting excited about counting all the various things she saw on the page, and it was one of those magical moments where you really see things start to click inside that little head. So we were watching her do her thing, and I suddenly got the notion in my head that there was something about this whole counting thing that would make a great theme for a song. I was kicking that around in the back of my head for a bit, when suddenly - BAM!! The entire concept of the song hit me, all at once. How each verse would go, and how each chorus would vary the theme of counting. It was really amazing. I had to run to find my One Note to type it out while it was all still with me.
The story is about my wife and her father. About a year before our daughter was born, he passed away, and it was very difficult for my wife. His service was very memorable, because he was a military man and received the full Military Service with honor guard. I had never experienced anything like it, and it was a very powerful thing to behold. I wrote this song to honor their story together, through all the ups and downs through the life they shared. It's very moving, and I have to admit it was very difficult to get through the writing process without getting choked up.
About the recording....
I initially just laid down a rough "writing" track of the guitar and vocal line so that I had something to work with. I fully intended to go back and rework these tracks to get something totally polished and pristine, but I found that I really liked the vibe of my original writing tracks. They definitely had a few rough patches and even outright clinkers, but the imperfections help the song come across as more genuine and personable to me. So I kept them as is, and just laid a few other layers around them to spruce things up a bit.
Lyrics
A little girl born in a small south Arizona town
Smiling big in a Green Machine as she looks up at him
(it's a) Fine time to be alive as he takes her little hand
I don't think at the time they realized what they had.
These were the best of times, they were the simple times,
Too soon left behind…
She recalls the times they spent doin' crazy little things
Like the time she made him laugh when she counted to twenty three
Though the years they'll both look back on these early memories
To story time and that little smile as she drifted off to sleep
She said thank you daddy for spending time with me
Won't you help me learn my numbers, please...
And they were counting quietly, it was as easy as 1 2 3
And when she looked into his eyes he knew this was everything
They were counting quietly, it was exactly what she needed
And she'd pull herself up close to keep holding on
Every now and then he still feels it...
Skip ahead a few more years and now so much has changed
That little girl was just 15 but she's gone and run away
Her momma screamed those hateful words as the car pulled away
Don't cha bring your babies to me is all that she could say
He swore he'd change that night at least thousand times
Instead of watching tail lights fade into the night
That left him counting quietly, waiting for that phone to ring
And he'll spend another evening hoping to hear her voice
He was counting quietly, missing that simplicity
Of the days gone by and the sound of that little voice
Every now and then he still hears it…
Twenty years later and his story's reached the end
She had her own little girl that she can never share with him
She never will forget that day on a Fort Wachuca Base
When she held that flag they gave her on a cold, sunny day
As the honor guard raised those rifles to the sky
She imagined he might be there, right by her side…
She was counting quietly, she wondered if he could see it
Twenty one long goodbyes to a man she loved
She was counting quietly, she wondered if he could see it
As she said her last goodbyes to a man she loved
Every now and then she still hears his voice
Every now and then she still hears it
