The Old Town

There’s a song by Tom Cochrane that I call my “homesick song”. It’s called [The Secret is to Know When to Stop](http://www.lyricsdownload.com/tom-cochrane-the-secret-is-to-know-when-to-stop-lyrics.html)  but the full line is “The secret is to know when to stop remembering”. It talks about shared memories, and even though the lyrics don’t explicitly suggest it, I get a sense of melancholy from the song, as if he’s longing for “..the night / That we ran out / Out on English Bay” or when “we drove through a rainbow up on Rogers Pass …”. Tom sings about places I know, and I know how he feels. A bit like Douglas Coupland, I suppose.

There’s another song. I’m pretty sure that if it’s about a specific place, it’s about nowhere I’ve ever been. It’s also a bit melancholy, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it’s someone else’s “homesick song”. It’s close to being mine. You’ve got to break your neck to see the stars in this town.

The Old Years official site

(My Friend the Chocolate Cake: David Bridie)

Watch the round bright moon rise

Over the pale blue bay

And maybe I’ll return to here

When I’m old and grey

But perhaps I’ll just be stupid

And not all calm and wise

Perhaps I won’t be satisfied

Just a little weary in my eyes

You got to break your neck to see

A star shine in this yard

You got to break your neck to see

A star shine in this yard

I’d like to have a good friend

To laugh away the years

Remember how we buggered up

And how we broke down

You got to break your neck to see

A star shine in this yard

You got to break your neck to see

A star shine in this yard

And if we wasted this adventure

And if we stay still for too long

You got to break your neck to see

A star shine in this yard

You got to break your neck to see

A star shine in this yard

I’m planning to see them this Sunday and I sure hope they play this one. Somehow, it makes me less homesick.