Don’t Fade (dad)

Possibly the best song ever written (bias alert)! I was feeling disgustingly sorry for myself (early 2006) as the long term effects of polio meant I could no longer exercise and was in a lot of pain. Ross took it to heart and wrote “Don’t Fade”, playing it for me for the first time at an open mic. evening. I cried – and I could feel the whole room thinking I had a horrible wasting disease (cancer or – even worse according to TV adverts, premature wrinkling or flyaway hair)… A few months later and I was crying again on hearing the first rough cut in the studio with Ross holding my hand. Though I’ve heard it scores of times, it still gives me an overwhelming emotional hit that reminds me of the real meaning of life…

Don’t Fade

It’s all falling down
No rest stretches you
With time running out
Less activity’s due
You gotta keep in season
Gotta rest with reason
And look inside
Look inside

And don’t fade dad
Don’t fade dad
Life’s still worth living
If you keep on giving
Your soul to the sun
Your soul to your sons

You’re weakening steeply
You better watch where you tread
You stare so obliquely
“I’ll survive”, you said
On the brink of balance
Don’t sink in silence
But speak outside
Speak outside

You’ll be alright
We’ll be alright
Just look inside
And speak outside

X Ray - polio back