When Our Loving Begins / Requiem
Tags: original songs
lyrics by Scott
Ainslie ©2003,
music by Al Pettaway ©2001
I will not fall.
I will never fall again.
I will stand on the bridge rail
And jump in the wind.
There’s a map in my heart,
And the scars deep within.
I will not close my eyes
When our loving begins.
Maybe we’re not that different.
Maybe you’ve been hurt, too.
Maybe you hear that river
Calling to you.
Take the cold out of winter;
Take the ice from the sky;
Take the pain out of your heart:
And let’s build us a fire.
Let’s build us a fire.
PERSONNEL:
Scott Ainslie: Acoustic Guitars and Vocal
Scott Petito: Fretless Electric Bass
The moving van left Durham a day ahead of me, headed for Vermont. It was just before Thanksgiving. I had a small gathering of friends over for the final house cleaning party, most of who, while I was sweeping and mopping up, were more intent on being distraught about my move North than cleaning, leaving to Mimi Herman, the scrubbing of my sink and cleaning of the stove.
A blessing on her.
I passed the moving van just south of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. I’d been listening to Al Petteway’s album of Blues improvisations and gotten stuck on the last track (and I mean really stuck!): “Requiem.”
As I crested the bridge, I began to sing to the track. Then I began to scribble words on the clipboard in the passenger’s seat. This is almost never legible.
At the first exit on the New Jersey Turnpike, I called our agents, John Loyd and Peggy Baldwin at Loyd Artists and asked for Al’s new phone number. I called him, told him that I was writing lyrics to one of his guitar pieces and hoped that it would be alright to continue. He said, “Sure. Great!”
And when I went to record it, Al said, “Just send me a copy when it’s done.” We’ve known each other since high school. It’s a family thing.
I premiered this song at the Swannanoa Gathering, playing with Sally Van Meter. Al, the director of the Guitar Week staff, heard it for the first time from the wings. Nice.