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Strangers

from Only One Life by peter zeldow

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about

"Strangers" began as a song about so-called familiar strangers, people whom you encounter along the way but don't really know, yet they somehow become important parts of your inner life. But then it veered in a more personal direction, and I followed the muse. It was Sigmund Freud who first wrote about seeing his reflection in the window of a train and realizing that he was the old stranger that he failed to recognize staring back at him. Photograph by the pseudonymous Hattie Portage. Used by permission.

lyrics

Sitting in a coffee shop watching a parade
Hungry but for what I cannot say
Last night I met Melissa, she's married with two kids
Says she won't make 60 and stole my heart away

There's a certain country singer who plays the local bars
Sometimes I go out to hear her songs
I want to know her secrets and I wonder where she sleeps
I'd like to add my voice if she'd let me sing along

I have reached my seventh decade, I am happy with my life
I cannot afford to be dissatisfied
I can't ignore this restlessness, it eats at me at night
Guess it's just my hearts way to remind me I'm alive

I am traveling in a train car, in the window I can see
A stranger bent and gray is drawing near
It takes me half a minute to determine that it's me
As I catch my breath beneath his eye I see a tear

I have reached my seventh decade, I am happy with my life
I remind myself I've yet to disappear
I take some consolation from the beauty I still see
The tiny revelations, the connections I hold dear

credits

from Only One Life, released July 9, 2018
Peter: vox and guitar

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tags

about

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peter zeldow Chicago, Illinois

Songs that hover around folk, rock & country genres with a mostly gentle, acoustic guitar-based mid-60s sound. The themes are universal: love (Jerome, You Are True), loss (Go), desire (Hunger), memory (It All Comes Back), aging (Golden Years), empathy (Kindness), & gratitude (Grateful). The delivery is understated, but the storytelling packs an emotional wallop that rewards careful listening. ... more

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