Fairfax

Lyrics:

I remember playing on the carpet stairs

Both of the cases

One went to the bedroom, the other to the basement

In that old house in Burke where my grandparents were

And great, great Dorthea looked on from the wall

I've tried not to forget it all

The last time we were there, we didn't know it then

But if I had, I would have taken it all in

I know that it's all gone now

And I know that we can't go back

But don't you ever, don't you ever miss it

Yeah

I remember taking walks outside those cold Virginia days

The wooded path, beginning of winter, on to the lake

My little Georgia lungs hadn't felt cold like this for months

And I would never get used to it

I'm older now

And, no, I never did

The last time we were there, we didn't know it then

But if I had, I would have taken it all in

I know that it's all gone now

And I know that we can't go back

But don't you ever, don't you ever miss Fairfax

~*~Flute solo~*~

I don't remember the bigger city

It was just a quiet cul-de-sac

With a big tree in the front yard

And Lake Barton in the back

Coffee and birdsong in the morning

Crosswords just to beguile the time

The afternoon wine on my grandmother's smile

I remember the pictures and the slides

Of the families both sides

Vacations and weddings

Younger Junes and Clydes

I remember the early morning rise

For the long twelve hour drive

Waving out the window

Our goodbyes

Don't you ever

Don't you ever miss it

A few notes:

This song was a fantastic product of insomnia. I had discovered the C/F chord (with the F in the bass) and loved the sound of it, but didn't have the words to match until I was up late, couldn't sleep, and kept thinking about my late relatives on my mom's side of the family and I was like, I have to write this song.

So Fairfax is a nostalgic tribute to my mom's side of the family. We used to take trips up to Virginia like every year when I was a kid, and it was always so fun. But I've discovered that as I get older and  people move and relationships change, you don't miss the place. You miss the times. 

To me, the city of Fairfax wasn't a city. It was a culmination of all the small little details I loved about my grandparents and visiting them. Even if I were to go back, it wouldn't be the same. It was the people that even made the place memorable.

There are several "family heirlooms" in this song: from the portrait of my great-great grandmother that hung in their living room to the antique nickel flute (that was my mom's, passed down to me) that I play in the middle. 

I was considering doing a music video for this one because I have a lot of cool pictures to go with it. The one for the cover was just so great because it's my sisters and I in front of the house with our family van in the background. 

They're all happy for the camera, and I'm just there, trying to take it all in.

Or, you know, crying.