ELYSIUM (The Prodigal’s Song) --- During the ‘Year of the Plague’ I found myself in a funk. I could feel the weight of isolation. Song ideas were dark and morose. To shake off the spiritual torpor I thought back to a time in life when I was happiest.
As a child I lived at a crossroads. My side of the street was the city. The other side of the street was the country. My side led continuously through neighborhoods, schools, manicured city parks, recreation centers, playgrounds, sports fields, libraries, and museums. Children were everywhere. The other side of the street led to the open pastures of a dairy farm where I fed the Guernseys crab apples through the fence. The big yellow farm dog and I became friends. There were hand-pumped wells, pumpkin patches and fruit growing wild from trees and bushes everywhere. Deeper into the woods there were streams, tadpoles, turtles, snakes, and adventure. It was everything a little outdoor boy could wish for. I would ride the little bike my cousin Skip made for me miles out into the country to my favorite fishing spot. It was where the Little and Big Darby Creeks merged. Just downstream a high train trestle crossed overhead. It was the end of the Steam Era and I got to see the big New York Central locomotives passing by thundering their approach from miles away. It was a magical time that is sadly no more. Mutatis Mutandis…. ---
Jason Spurling -- Cahon and Percussion
Mastering at Even Steven Productions (ESP), Pinellas Park, Fl, by Glenn Laubaugh.