Story Behind The Song

Our children are the most precious gift we have. My (then) twelve-year-old flew off to California to visit her cousins. It was her first "solo" flight (meaning neither Mom nor Dad nor Soccer Team was flying with her). I choked down my emotions and let her go, all the while silently praying that no harm would come to her while she was in the air. I almost couldn't bear the thought of her being alone in a frightening situation with nobody to comfort her. This song will strike a warm chord with empty nesters -- we lovingly refer to it as the "Kleenex" Song. Most people, at least, most parents, get tearful after listening to Away. The first time I tried to perform it in public, I was engulfed in tears and had to stop singing. Interestingly, this story has two parts. My mother pointed out to me the irony... in fact she felt the same emotions when I left Sydney, Australia in 1986 to live in Seattle.

Song Description

A song that will tug at the heartstrings of any loving mother who knows the pain of separation from her child. This mother watched her child depart alone on a plane and felt the ache of parting, the love of a mother, and the need to give her the freedom to follow her own path in life.

Lyrics

Yesterday her first little steps, today she's flying high
I watch a sleek and silver bird pointing at the sky
Taking her away to a new life of her own
Part of her will stay and part of me has flown... away
My little girl of yesterday no more
A mother's love, for wings, wherever she may soar
A mother's memories ache in my heart
Another page for me, for her a brand new start
And as she flies away to a new life of her own
Part of her will stay and part of me has flown... away
I never was the one to say a prayer
On wings of love I send my silent words for her
And as the silver bird becomes too small to see
I say "Watch over her, and keep her safe while she's... away"
Watch over her in places that a mother cannot be
Watch over her, let our love lift up and carry me... away