Faded Photographs
Words and music by Richard S. Grossman
My father, Phil Grossman (pictured above with my mother Estelle), died at age 86 after suffering for several years from what was diagnosed as Alzheimer’s Disease. Earlier this year, he came to visit me in a dream. Upon awakening, what I recalled clearly was him describing his one vivid memory of an old framed photograph of a beautiful woman on the nightstand next to his bed. He was insistent he knew her, but could not remember her name or who she actually was. It was clear to me that dad was referring to my mom and that he was trying to communicate to me what losing one’s memory did to alter the course of one’s life. I was both deeply touched and saddened. With my father looking over my shoulder, Faded Photographs poured out of me as a result of this experience.
A very special thanks to Michelle Kinney, cellist extraordinaire, for her gift of helping me capture the emotional essence of this chapter of my life.
He awakens every morning and looks into the eyes
Of the person lying beside him, who he does not recognize
On the nightstand there’s a picture in a five by seven frame
Of a woman who’s familiar, tho’ he can’t recall her name
His world is filled with shattered dreams, panes of broken glass
Just memories that disappear like faded photographs
Gravity pulls its weight
And every soul meets its fate
When people ask a question, he feels so much the fool
He struggles for the answer, like a child in grammar school
He’s lost inside this darkness, afraid and all alone
A man without a purpose, a man without a home
His world is filled with shattered dreams, panes of broken glass
Just memories that disappear like faded photographs
Gravity pulls its weight
And every soul meets its mate
For all the faded photographs and things that have been lost
He won’t abandon his belief in love at any cost
He holds on to every sunset, and every waning moon
Mental pictures soon forgotten, like the lyrics of this tune
And that haunting distant memory, in the five by seven frame
Of a woman so familiar, tho’ he can’t recall her name
Of a feeling so familiar, still he can’t recall her name
©2019 Crocus Hill Music
Credits
Piano and Vocals: Richard S. Grossman
Cello: Michelle Kinney
Produced and Engineered by: Richard S. Grossman