One of several songs that Will recorded for 2 different CDs, releasing this and 4 other tunes on both “Acoustic Session” (released April 2005) and “Letters in the Wind” (released January 2006).
I had forgotten how many overlaps those two recordings included.
The first record was primarily to get Will back into a recording studio to record some songs in a simplified, stripped-down fashion for quick release.
The later album, “Letters in the Wind,” was masterfully produced by Stephen Doster, and built Will’s songs up from those first sparse renditions into beautiful orchestrations that really bring Will’s lyrics to life. That’s the version I have included here.
Somewhere after I’ve sung a last song,
A lover will come along,
Not knowing my voice, hearing traces
Of tears fallen down millions of faces.
Whatever your name might be —
Living, missing you,
Sometimes by the sea,
Wishing I could be kissing you —
Suicidally, I’d forgive you later to live.
Softened shoe heels were well worn
Traversing roads to where you were yet to be born.
I usually had work waiting,
Occasionally congratulating
Whatever your name might be —
Living, missing you,
Sometimes by the sea,
Wishing I could be kissing you —
Suicidally, I’d forgive you later to live.
Kind, the tides have washed away my lonely footprints
Too many times for me
Not to know destiny befriended lonesome ways without you.
And for not being there, I’m sorry, lover,
I had myself to find.
Kind, the tides will wash away your lonely footprints,
Beautifully true
See me fade away like old paint.
I know acknowledgment dreams don’t taint.
Other eyes will still another’s, hers and or his,
Lonesome as living unalone is.
Whatever your name might be —
Living, missing you,
Sometimes by the sea,
Wishing I could be kissing you —
Suicidally, I’d forgive you later to live.
Variations
Will also recorded 2 prior versions of this song on a tiny cassette recorder during the years he was not publicly performing, lost in the shadows of his schizophrenia. The earlier versions are basically the same but contain interesting minor lyrical variations.
In his initial version, one chorus line changed each time the chorus repeated:
“Sometimes, I’d run by the sea…”
“Sometimes, I’d walk by the sea…” and
“Sometimes, I’d stand by the sea…”
Additionally, this couplet originally completed the second verse:
“An ever-present absence in my life
You’re the one who should have been my wife.”
The version on “Letters in the Wind” obviously reflects Will’s final chosen lyrics for this song. I just find some of the fragments he changed along the way fascinating.
Buller's back porch 