"Looking Through Lisa's Eyes" (original song)

Another song about dealing with my wife Lisa's clinical depression. I suppose she is my muse. I wish her all the health in the world... but this is all great fodder for songs, too! I remember Dylan was questioned late into his career as to the reason his newer songs were not as political, radical, angst ridden or melencholic as his earlier material. He stated, "It's difficult to be miserable when you are a millionaire"! I always loved that response. As always, constructive critiques are much appreciated. Lyrics:

LOOKING THROUGH LISA'S EYES

Such a feeling of sweet despair,
Tears matting back her hair,
I could never take you there,
Looking through Lisa's eyes.
Four walls conceal her pain,
Bedroom filled with sad refrain,
Cluttered closets half explain,
Looking through Lisa's eyes,
Looking through Lisa's eyes...

But, Oh a flower grew there once, long ago,
Reaching for the sun, but now you would never know.
I'd tear her from her misery, from her Hell,
But I could never fix anything very well.
The ground so cold,
But there's a treasure more than gold there.
Down I go...
Hold her hand, be her man, touch her soul...

Many questions linger still,
Is it nature, is it will?
An iron hand or another pill,
Looking through Lisa's eyes.
Heaping guilt or stealing hope,
Rhetoric some doctor wrote,
Desperate tools to help her cope,
Looking through Lisa's eyes,
Looking through Lisa's eyes...

And oh, the sorrow in her eyes at the door,
Tells me how she tried, but died a little more.
Only God will set her free, eventually,
But through a fire she must burn away it seems.
A heart so deep,
But demons chase her in her sleep.
A shell worn so thin,
Everything but my words can get in...

words & music by Jon Shelton ©2006

Category:

Music

Tags:

• song
• songwriter
• songwriting
• depression
• dylan
• amateur
• guitar
• original

[tafxkz]

nice song

[FlyingHorseKnuckles]

@tafxkz Why, thank you!

[tafxkz]

@FlyingHorseKnuckles

can you show the chord work?

[FlyingHorseKnuckles]

@tafxkz Here are the chords for the verses in sequence:

Em7 A7 Dm7 G7 Gm7 C A7 Dm Bflat. And for the chorus: the verse ends with the Dm changing into a D, then Em A7 A7sus4th C Bflat D Em A7 A7sus4th C Bflat C6 G - the G's bass drops down to Em to start the next verse. I hope this helps! Thanks for caring to learn. ~Jon

[carlosmdiaz1]

Great song !! I really enjoyed it keep it up

[FlyingHorseKnuckles]

Thank you!

[FlyingHorseKnuckles]

Thank you Leeysa for your kind and encouraging words. I'd love to actually sell a song someday (I suck at performing). The idea of one of my songs gracing a professional CD by one of my fav artists would thrill me. ~Jon

[FlyingHorseKnuckles]

Hey! How dare you imply that Nilsson is better than I! We are just "different". For instance, he is talented, accomplished, successful and brilliant; and I...

... wish I were, too. ;-)

Thanks for even mentioning us in the same breath! ~Jon

[noliketoregister]

I don't know if I'm just hearing patterns where none exist or not. For some reasons your song here recollected a Nilsson tune called 1941. You may search YouTube for a title "Harry Nilsson BBC 1941" and find it. Am I nuts? Now while your song is good, his is, of course, "better." But I suspect even resembling Harry's stuff is high praise.

[Leeysakennedy]

I agree, you are very talented! Stumbled on this quite by accident and what a joy to listen to. You have a good voice. Hope someone picks up on your talent for song writing! Good luck. All the best to Lisa, too. I've been there and I know what it felt like for me. I hope your music inspires her. I bet she's proud of you!