This song started stirring when I walked into my classroom one day after some very special students and friends had left for the final time after completing their high school academic and musical careers. The room was exceptionally quiet. It doesn't get that way very often. It struck me that my appreciation of the room had little to do with its physical makeup, and everything to do with its occupants. I worked on the song at home, in what has become my practice and writing room; my daughter's old room. The parallels between the two spaces and how I felt about them gave the song momentum, and before I knew it, the song was finished. I don't know if I'll ever perform it, but it rings true for me.

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Empty Room (Seeing You)
(Mike McCornack)

An empty room, just four plain walls,
A squeaky door, familiar pictures,
Mottled ceiling with missing tiles,
A dusty halo around the fixtures

Now the day has come at last
The old clichés have all come true
"An empty nest", "time moves too fast",
But in this room I still see you,
In this room I still see you.

An old piano, a couple chairs,
A favorite book we've had for ages,
The carpet tired from years of wear,
A calendar with no more pages.

It's been like this for years, I guess,
But somehow I never knew
That what I loved in this room best
Was walking in and seeing you,
Walking in and seeing you.

May 24, 2007