This is a song I started writing back in 2010 or so. It's not terribly long, but at the time, I had completed what is now the first two verses and chorus lines (each third phrase- starting with an asterisk- is a chorus). I thought, it could stand alone like that, but if I could think up another two verses and chorus lines, it could complete the theme- the four seasons. Fall, Summer, Spring, and Winter. I'm now 25, and after 5 more years of life experience and new perspectives, the poignant nature of its message was clear. The first half still stood to the truth of what I've learned over the years, and the second half was finally retrospective enough to trickle out in poetry. The fact is, we're always just beginning the rest of the year- from new year's day, to new year's eve- though in any present moment, it may take no less than a the previous year itself to remember where we were on that day. Every day is a whole new year, to recall, to learn from, and to wonder what's to come of the next. Some things repeat, leaving no foreshadow of change, but the rest is ever humbling, without a glint of promise. My overarching life philosophy has long been surmised in a phrase- my mantra, if you will. "To pursue without promise is noble". It has never failed to ring true. The lyrics are as follows:


"The Rest of The Year"


Smells of Fall and alcohol
Return into to my head
Yes I still remember when
We left the kid for dead

Looking back at the years before
We ever knew our names-
I should have known that I’d been growin’
In a world of shame

*Summer breathes a heavy sigh
Seasons never say goodbye
One more week, and Fall is here
And so begins the rest of the year

Me and Dan- my right hand man-
And Shabby on the road
We stayed amused with the rhythm and blues
And the stories we told

Out by the street with something to eat
When the weather was feeling right
Making plans to get together again
On a warm summer night

*Retail work could be so strange
The people never seemed to change
The shelves are always low on beer
At the beginning of the rest of the year

Spring ahead, and fall behind,
But the days are just as long,
What do we give what hour it is,
If the work gets done?

I made steps and stumbled and tripped,
But I found out who I am,
Being cool when you get outta school
Isn't worth a damn

*Little things may pass us by,
Fading in and out of mind,
But where do we go from here?
Deafened and blinded by the rest of the year

Done with the winter- done with the cold-
His welcome is overstayed,
When the holiday's over,
He breaks every promise he made

I suppose goodbyes and hellos
Are not far from the same
You never lose getting over the blues
When the seasons change

*Winters leave no time for rest
We may keep it cool at best
Though we hold our memories dear
Ever in awe, behold the rest of the year