Story Behind The Song

I wrote this on an airplane after visiting with my father while he was very ill. He?s been ill for a long time. While sitting on the airplane, the pilot announced we?d be making a gradual descent. I thought it described things just perfectly.

Song Description

This song is about letting go of resentment to a parent who was consumed by addiction. This is about saying goodbye to a parent who has died or is dying. There are lines about the price of the addiction.

Lyrics

Gradual Descent ? Lyric Sheet

This goodbye is the color black
Dark and full of mystery
All the goodbyes wash over me
Sickness took his mind long ago
Where his heart went I don?t know
It was a gradual descent
It was a gradual descent
He was the one who would never grow old
And I was just his kid
I got older but he never did
He wasted all his years
I wasted all my tears
It was a gradual descent
Never knowing what life meant
His life was a party
Coke, booze, needles and pills
His life was a party with all the thrills
And what?s left, his friends long gone
Just a wounded body hanging on
And all the things he missed
Don?t matter anymore
Every life has a purpose
What did you stand for
And if there?s something I should know
If there?s something you want to say
Better make your peace today
I?ll send a prayer your way

Copyright © 2003 Sarri Gilman