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I Never Saw (Lament for a Broken Toad)

My favorite song because it works so well. Not sure why I wrote this, but I remember sitting in my room in Goldensbridge and channeling it, playing on a classical guitar that I had at the time. Most of my songs are written, at least in form, for someone else. In the end, though, they’re mostly about me. And in this sing I cut out the middleman. I think of this song as me singing to my reflection in a mirror, and in fact, in my play Nomad, I have the main character do that. On this recording, Eric’s sublime flute playing really lifts the piece. The parenthetical title is the title I used to use for the song, the “toad” a reference to my lifelong identification with frogs.

Lyrics

I Never Saw (Lament for a Broken Toad)

I never saw you looking this way before

I never realized the feelings you had

It don’t seem so long ago that you were telling me

How it was gonna be

But I don’t recall this part at all

‘Cause I never saw you looking this way before

Maybe that’s cause you didn’t want me to see

You say you know just what’s in store

You say you’ve even known worse times before

But I never saw you looking this way at me

I never saw you looking this way before

Though you would have me think that nothing has changed

But every time you smile and tell me

Things will be fine

That’s when your eyes meet mine

And there in your eyes is where I find

That I never saw you looking this way before

Ain’t it funny how naked people in love can be

You say you’re sure it won’t happen no more

How many times have I heard that before

Hey, I never saw you looking this way at me.

2018-10-29T16:49:27-04:00