March 29, 2025

HS48 - JR One Foot in the Garden

So close. 

I know when I’m reaching for it, and when trying to land a lyric is a stretch.  

I get the feeling that what I really want to say is just on the other side of the fence,  just around a corner, or just a few more steps away.   I try hard to catch up - and if I get lucky, and do, there is calm and easy joy that arrives.  It never stays long, so I stay vigilant for the opportunity, and sometimes I give chase. 

I’ve been feeling away lately, a bit out of step.  I am trying to find a new rhythm in the wake of uncertainty.  I imagine I am not alone in this feeling.   

Chasing something that never arrives can be painful.  We’ve all been there.  Whether patiently waiting or running up the hill to greet the thing we can’t see over the horizon.  Sometimes - nothing is there.   What’s next? Retreat? Keep going? 

Answer: Keep going. 

This is a demo I recorded with Kev McKendree at his house in Nashville ten or so years ago.  It feels like the beginning of something cool - and I can still remember what it felt  like to be in the room chasing it down with him, trying to see around the next corner together.   

I’ve been sitting on the lyrics for a long time since, and never really finished them, even though they are constantly on my mind:  we’ve got one foot in the garden and one in the grave.  

It’s spring.  Let’s focus on the garden. 

Lots of work to do. 

Yours, 

JR