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Western Reserve

from Western Reserve by Howard Simon

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lyrics

Western Reserve

The moment I saw it, I knew it
The Buick pulled in the drive
I couldn’t think how we’d get through it
Couldn’t think how we’d survive

The soldiers could not have been kinder
You could see they’d done this before
Another suburban reminder
Of an endless, horrible war

To serve was never Ted’s calling
But he joined the Ohio Guard
The Iron Camels out of Piqua
When they cut back his hours at the yard

Ted was buried with full Army colors
With his brothers at Western Reserve
In a grave like ten thousand others
A grave that no one deserves

And I feel so sad for my Davy
With the loneliest crosstown commute
From Western Reserve down to Lake View
And the stones of life’s bitter fruit

Not long past Ted’s memorial service
I felt a strange pain in my thumb
At first, I thought it was nerves
Though most of the time I felt numb

But by April my hands were on fire
By May I was feeling so weak
In June I had to retire
By July, whole days when I couldn’t speak

And I cannot describe what it felt like
The infusions that tore me apart
And pain that consumed my body
After pain had consumed my heart

But the worst part was watching my husband
So angry with the Lord
Silently raging at heaven
Fury on the seventh-floor ward

Chorus

The moment I saw it, I knew it
The Buick pulled in the drive
I couldn’t think how we’d get through it
Couldn’t think how we’d survive

The soldiers could not have been kinder
I could see they’d done this before
Another suburban reminder
Of an endless, horrible war

credits

from Western Reserve, released August 22, 2020
Howard Simon: acoustic guitar, vocal
Shira Kammen: vielle trio (performance and arrangement)
Derek Bianchi: bass

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about

Howard Simon image

Howard Simon San Francisco, California

I am a San Francisco-based singer-songwriter. My songs are about love (romantic and otherwise), family, morality and mortality. If there is a common thread to my songs, it is the people we love, the desire to do right, and the hope and fear, the peace and the struggle that constitute life bring wonder in addition to its joy and sadness, and sometimes loss. ... more

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