From the recording Threadbare Songs
A year ago, I stumbled into the Wildwood Songwriting Contest timid and uncertain. I felt like a broken creator fumbling for words. Week after week, Sonny and Georgia gave me something I didn't know I needed: a reason to show up, a place to fail forward, and a community that reminded me I wasn't alone.
This song is my thank you. Thank you for the Monday noon prompts. Thank you for the grace to receive (and honor) imperfect songs and for reminding me that transformation happens one week at a time.
The year may be ending, but the forest you planted in me will keep growing.
With gratitude,
Brian
Lyrics
Verse 1
A lonely blank page at the start of the day
My fountain pen struggled still, finding its way
Random lines scribbled on unwilling paper
Fumbling for words like a broken creator
Walked into the wildwood, timid and meek
Expecting to fall on my face every week
Writing new melodies no one would hear
The next thing I knew, it had been a whole year
Chorus
I spent a whole year in the Wildwood
And now that it's come to a close
I know so much more what’s inside of me
I’m full of songs, stories, poems and prose
Verse 2
Anxiety shifted to anticipation
Waiting for Monday noon, prompt inspiration
My pen would go searching for meter and verse
I’d grab my guitar and then try to rehearse
Convincing my fingers to play the right chords
Still second-guessing when I’d press record
Though strings would buzz and my voice would give way
I tried to hit send by the end of the day
Verse 3
It wasn’t just me in a lonely pursuit
People from every walk ventured in too
From Iowa, New York, Atlanta and Maine
Wisconsin, Kentucky, all sang their refrains
Chorus
We spent a whole year in the Wildwood
And now that it's come to a close
We know so much more what’s inside of us
We’re full of songs, stories, poems and prose