Holly

Oh, Holly, I know I've been such a fool
The lies that I told 'bout us both growin' old
I can't undo

Oh, Holly, it's been years since we spoke
But I love you the same as I did
Before your heart broke

I took you for granted so long
Thought that I needed to just be alone
But I was wrong

Cars covered in snow asleep by the pool
I gave up the bottle
Just like I gave up on you

I found me another hotel and a girl to lay with
I still can't fix sinks
No better than I ever did

Holly, I see you were right
The things that I done--
We'll never be right again

But I still dream of days, me and you
In a park where the water runs blue
And music floats out of gazebos

Oh, Holly, my love, on this Christmas Eve
If I were to come back to you
Would you ask me to leave?

Holly, I see you were right
The things that I done--
We'll never be right again

Tell me you dream of a day
In a park where our children will play
And gazebos play music for me and you
I do

Over Christmas I revisited one of my favorite collections of short stories, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, by Raymond Carver. Carver isn't for everyone--it's very minimalist writing and requires you to fill in a lot of the blanks on your own--but if you can give it an honest chance I think you'll enjoy his style. Anyway, I was told recently I should write a X'mas song, which, even though I knew it was a preposterous idea, I thought it might be a good way to kill time over the holidays. After having read Carver's "Gazebo," a tragic story about the demise of Duane's and Holly's relationship, a couple who try in their own dysfunctional way to run a hotel, I decided to write from Duane's perspective and see where the two might be years down the line. Does Duane still love Holly? Has Holly forgiven him? Where are their lives now? Holly has that certain yuletide ring to it, hence the loose Christmas nod, but other than that it's just a simple story-song. It's a simple chord progression, in the key of C, played in a country 3/4 waltz. This is the first draft. It needs a lot of work, but I thought I'd get what I have out of my Moleskine notebook and onto my computer screen. I'll get some audio up one of these days...