Answering The Call

Right. So I came home last night and as I wound down by surfing the internet (this is pretty much standard operating procedure for me) I somehow linked over to an interview that had been done with Michael Been, the singer/bassist for the band The Call. The interviewer was talking about how with Been's music you were left wondering if his lyrics were about God, a woman or the dichotomy that existed with wanting both in your life. I felt inspired and didn't even finish reading the interview. Instead I decided to try to write in a similar vein. Now, Tommy and I do already tend to write rather ambiguously about our subject matter so it wouldn't be much of a stretch except for the fact that I usually don't write about personal things like love, lust and so forth.

After an initial burst of creativity I backed off and finished reading a book that I had and then was drawn back to what I had started. What followed was a process of me writing and revising as I recognized the lines that I didn't like or felt as if they didn't fit. After about forty-five minutes of this I was done and I posted the results on my Facebook account. After doing so though I realized that I wasn't finished after all and ended up editing it all over again and adding two final lines. As much as I like this now I know that when Tommy sinks his brain into it there will be change and perhaps it will be drastic. He has a tendency to see through my hyperbole and draw out the core ideas and help sharpen them. That's if he feels this is something that will fit with the band. So that's the plan at least. You tell me if it's any good.

           The Call

Bring me up the right way
Teach me about what is wrong
Straining for a little glimpse
These battle hymns are just a song

Build me up then let me down
My conflicting emotions rage inside
Set my heart on fire with a look
Tell me rules in which we have to abide

I still need you in my life
You help keep my feet on the path
The friction's burning up my mind
How long until I feel the crash

That smile has filled my dreams
My lust for learning still grows
Drawn closer by shared feelings
Kept apart by what we know

I turn to you in best of times
Then away when in distress
Will you give me what I need
Will I earn only nothingness

The left and the right can't agree
What future remains for my humanity
I no longer believe in what they say
The glory boys still preach insanity

Every place I go every face I see
Yearns to draw you closer to me

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.