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Sometimes I Forget by Loudon Wainwright III

Posted by Greg Schneider on April 3, 2010 at 8:57pm
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Tags: mourning, bereavement, "loudon wainright iii", grief
This is a song about the death of Loudon's father in 1988...the words are sung from the depths of grieving heart trying to make sense of the loss. Here are the lyrics: Sometimes I Forget Sometimes I forget that you've gone You've gone, and you're not coming back And it's hard to believe you're still not here What's left behind disputes that fact Your closet's still full of your clothes and your shoes And your bookcase still holds all your books It's as if all you've done was to go out of town You'll be back soon, that's just how it looks But your suitcase is empty, it's right here in the hall That's not even the strangest thing Why would you leave your wallet behind Your glasses, your wristwatch and ring Your glasses, your wristwatch and ring Sometimes I forget that you've gone That we'll never see you again I think for a moment, I've got to give him a call But I can't now I realize that Now we can't meet for lunch at the usual place The place where we always would go And there was something I wanted to tell you so bad Something I knew that you'd want to know I could go by myself to our old haunt That seems like such a strange thing to do The waiters would wonder what was going on Why weren't you there, where were you Why weren't you there, where were you Sometimes I forget that you've gone I remember and I feel the ache How could it have happened, how could it be It's not true, there must be some mistake Momentos, memories, tell me what good are they No they're not much to have and to hold And it's true that you're gone, And you're not coming back And this world seems so empty and cold But sometimes things happen, It doesn't seem strange You're not far away, you're near Sometimes I forget that you've gone Sometimes it feels like you're right here Right now it feels like you're right here

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  • Greg Schneider April 4, 2010 at 11:10am
    I remember the first time I heard this...one of the grieving members of the group I help facilitate brought it to share. We all listened and were in tears by the end. The message clearly resonated with all in the room...quite a beautiful moment. I was telling the story to a cousin of mine and found out she knows Loudon and his family...his family has dealt with a lot of loss. Maybe I'll meet him someday.
  • Frances Shani Parker April 4, 2010 at 10:29am
    Well, I turned on your five stars! lol
  • Greg Schneider April 4, 2010 at 10:08am
    I hope it was a good mood. :-)
  • Frances Shani Parker April 3, 2010 at 10:49pm
    Leave it to you, Greg, to create a whole different mood while I connect in cyberspace during the wee hours.
    There's something about a guitar and a life-changing story packed with emotion.

    Frances
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