Story Behind The Song

A friend of mine who is totally deaf and a performer asked me to write something for her to perform about her quest as a deaf woman to find a relationship. This song is one of the results (though the piece that she would perform would obviously be more a staged piece using sign language, with the music not so important). The lyrics use a lot of artistic license, as I'm sure that for her, as a performer able to convey much through her other senses, communication isn't such an issue as it is for the woman in the song. But the idea of having as the protagonist someone who is deaf but functioning pretty much the same as anyone else appealed to me, not least for all of the sense-related imagery it brings up.

Song Description

A deaf woman uses all her functioning senses to find the love of her life, and falls blissfully in love, until she gets suspicious of him and looks at his email one day--when she realises he's been unfaithful. He tries to deny it, but his protestations 'fall on deaf ears' and she moves on, to resume her quest for true love elsewhere.

Lyrics

Between the Signs

In her deaf world she heard clearly a voice that spoke inside,
It told her if you look for love, one day that's what you'll find,
Keep your eye on the horizon, your feet on the ground,
Your finger on the pulse of all that's going on around.

It's hard to find a soul mate when words get in the way,
But harder still when speaking's not the way you communicate.

She met him through an old friend, liked him from the start,
And though she could not hear his words, she heard him with her heart,
Oh, and days turned into weeks, April turned to May,
Liking turned to loving, it filled her every day.

But one day she opened up his email,
And one day she read between the lines;
One day she read it on his lips,
And one day she read between the signs:

It's hard to keep a soul mate when words get in the way,
But harder still when speaking's not the way you communicate.

He tried hard to deny it, hoped her love was blind,
But his words fell on deaf ears, soon she'd leave him far behind;
Communication breakdown, like two strangers now;
Expectations shattered, love's withered on the bough.

It's hard to keep a soul mate when words get in the way,
But harder still when speaking's not the way you communicate.

But in her world of silence a voice still speaks inside,
Tells her to go on looking, says seek and you will find,
Keep your eye on the horizon, your feet on the ground,
And one day what you're looking for will surely come around,
Yeah, one day what you're looking for will surely come around.

© 2010, Mandy Woods