ACROSS THE KANSAS PLAINS

A panoramic American image. 

It always amazes me, the vastness of the plains states. The ribbons of highways and rails, the endless flow of trucks and trains.  Coal, oil, corn and goods moving in all directions, guaranteeing our privileged lives.

This song is influenced by Joan Baez’s music and song, ‘Once I had a sweetheart’.  The melody and guitar part fell out from sky.  The song relays the story of a man thinking about his girlfriend who is no longer with him.  He talks about their love. Although, he mentions the ‘unkind words’, we don’t know who said those unkind words which led to the demise of their relationship.  The blame seems to be on the sweetheart who gives him that one last kiss before leaving. 

I think most of us at some points in our lives have gone through delusional relationships.  It usually happens because we create a false impression about someone due to our own emptiness.  We try to find and see things in others that we lack.  Perhaps the unkind words that led to the loss of love were not the words of his sweetheart.  The song is a combination of a little bit of delusion and self-loathing that most of us go through.

This is a melody one can play over and over. The storyline is about the end of the line in a relationship.  The result is the soft sadness, the inevitability of the final scene.