Firstly I soon realised how difficult it was to write lyrics about a recent tragic event so close to home. In previous songs I have written about historical events like "Chicago's Gonna Know My Name" I would focus on the graphic nature of the tragedy as perhaps I felt disconnected from the events personally. In this case the story was about a young boy who was killed by his own gang after living a short life of abuse and neglect.
I simply could not do that to the same extent with this brief and I think it would have drastically weakened the songs appeal if i did. Instead the lyrics focus on themes of sadness and courage.
When I Close My Eyes
We sang out loud
And the laughter flowed
In late november
But that awful sound
That mighty roar
I remember
The music stopped
And the lights went off
And the rafters blocked the
Doorway to my love
When i close my eyes, I hear her crying
The night the roof came down
And beneath the heap
I can hardly breathe
Hear voices calling
Pulled on my feet
To my disbelief
I was walking
They ran inside
Fear far behind
As the bright lights paint
Blue glitter on the clyde
When i close my eyes, i see courage brimming
The night the roof came down
But sadness grips
Our sorry souls
And sadder yet
The number grows
Say our goodbyes
They closed their eyes
For one last time
The night the roof came down
I tried to strike a similar balance between the description of the event and the emotional outcome as in the lyrics to "The Blantyre Explosion." I managed to set the scene for the listener like the writer of "The Blantyre Explosion" with lyrics like "And the rafters blocked the Doorway to my love," "The night the roof fell down" and "As the bright lights paint Blue glitter on the clyde." However the purpose of the song was to create a personal resonance and I do this by littering the song with emotional cues. "I hear her crying," "I see Courage Brimming," "Sadness grips our sorry souls."
When I Close My Eyes
We sang out loud
And the laughter flowed
In late november
But that awful sound
That mighty roar
I remember
The music stopped
And the lights went off
And the rafters blocked the
Doorway to my love
When i close my eyes, I hear her crying
The night the roof came down
And beneath the heap
I can hardly breathe
Hear voices calling
Pulled on my feet
To my disbelief
I was walking
They ran inside
Fear far behind
As the bright lights paint
Blue glitter on the clyde
When i close my eyes, i see courage brimming
The night the roof came down
But sadness grips
Our sorry souls
And sadder yet
The number grows
Say our goodbyes
They closed their eyes
For one last time
The night the roof came down
I tried to strike a similar balance between the description of the event and the emotional outcome as in the lyrics to "The Blantyre Explosion." I managed to set the scene for the listener like the writer of "The Blantyre Explosion" with lyrics like "And the rafters blocked the Doorway to my love," "The night the roof fell down" and "As the bright lights paint Blue glitter on the clyde." However the purpose of the song was to create a personal resonance and I do this by littering the song with emotional cues. "I hear her crying," "I see Courage Brimming," "Sadness grips our sorry souls."