FAWM: "Haunted"

Haunted

1 week ago by @philkmills

Haunted

philkmills

00:00

Liner Notes

#filk #acoustic

This song was inspired by a Ray Bradbury story called "The Dragon", which has nothing in common with the song. Well, they both do talk about overlapping realities...a theme Bradbury came back to now and then.

Apparently I'm still living in Am.

Lyrics

I’ve spent most of my years among familiar painted walls. There’s a path worn in the carpet, from the kitchen through the hall The memories embedded in the fittings hold me close, But echoes from time’s passing are what clutch at me the most The friends I knew who came for conversation Have passed on to their timeless destinations.

But lately I’ve been hearing soft, though unexpected, sounds, Like footsteps of my wife upstairs, when she was still around. Or sometimes music playing on a distant radio Songs I hum to pass the time; those ghosts of long ago If this old house tells stories now, I’ll let it But if it thinks to make me leave…. Forget it!

“We’re finally unpacked,” he said. “We can be happy here,” she said, “It’s everything we wanted.” “A bargain at this price,” she said. “So serious, they seemed,” he said, “Suggesting it was haunted.”

I must admit, the voices from the bedroom made me stop: Too young, too fresh to be imagined. Standing there, I thought, I don’t remember when I last shopped at a grocery store Or any other recent time I’ve opened the front door.

Ah, live your lives untouched by my intrusion; I’ll happily choose silence and seclusion.

Comments

@karan 6d

What an amazing story! I love it! And the melody and arrangement fit perfectly.

@tawny249 1w

Classic ghost story vibes, but gentler. I always like your guitar playing, and this is no exception. It's very contemplative in tone, which is absolutely your thing in songwriting - you wrote a ghost story that's actually about memory more than it is about ghosts. Legit.

@laurenoxford 1w

i keep coming back to the line,

“if this old house tells stories now, I’ll let it”

something about it is really compelling to me. who knows, i might let it springboard an idea of my own!

i really love the gentle twist to this, and the part of me that craves symmetry and loves cleverness wants the chorus to happen again at the end, but from the perspective of the new homeowners. the parallel of “if it thinks to make me leave, forget it!” is intriguing to me. and at the same time, i also do think it works well in its current form.

just a potentially fun challenge if you’re looking for one. ^-^

@edwinb 1w

Am is a nice place to live, and fitting for these words. Nice spooky feel, and making me think a little bit of Philip K Dick's "The Cosmic Puppets" now, a story I haven't read for decades, but also an overlapping realities thing.

@danielkelly 1w

Happy to be on another FAWM journey with you @philkmills, I'm not sure if you know the British 'Ghosts' TV series, but I was reminded of that by these lyrics. Other lives sharing our space is an interesting/unsettling thought. Love the guitar sound on this also.

@cblack 1w

Great vocal vibe here. Works so well with that chord progression. I really like this.

@nwhosings 1w

Awww, I love the idea of letting a house tell stories, and with boundaries too🙂 Love the twist of the story at the end. A gentle twist. Really loving the low notes on the guitar accompaniment.

@paul_pedersen 1w

Your song demonstrates excellent storytelling set against a moody, minor melody. Nicely done.

@val 1w

I'm unfamiliar with the Bradbury story, but it makes for an intriguing lyric. Go ahead with as much Am as you like. It's one of my favorite chords. Love the guitar and the story!