I wrote this song for my daughters, Pichayada (nicknamed iPhone) and Natthanicha (nicknamed Nano). It's about a father's love outliving him — the idea that even when I'm gone, I'll still be there in the music they make. Every scale, every note, every song they play carries a piece of me forward. iPhone plays with the fire and grace of the violin and flute; Nano moves with the light and rhythm of the piano and her voice. This is my promise to them both: however far, however long, I am with them in the song.
I counted every hour at the keys,
the missed notes and the lost tempo were all I let you hear.
Forgive the times I couldn't soften, please —
I made each lesson into something you feared.
But every scale I made you climb,
every line I asked you to repeat —
I was trying to build a shelter for a storm
I prayed would miss you, knowing storms still come.
So carry the music, carry it on,
through the longest night, when my light is gone.
Let it hold you up when I can't be near —
my love is the melody that you hear.
However far, however long,
my girls, I am with you in the song.
My first, my iPhone, with the violin's cry,
the flute holding steady as the drums march by,
the weekends bent low over a sound you make new —
every track that you build holds a piece of me and you.
My Nano, my light, with the piano's grace,
new words on your tongue from a far-off place,
you dance like the morning, you sing like the rain —
keep that joy in your hands when the world hands you pain.
One day the house will go quiet, I know,
one day you'll look up and find I had to go.
But press down a key, draw the bow, take a breath —
you'll hear me on this side of the silence.
There's no end to a father who lives in a song.
So carry the music, carry it on…
my girls, I am with you in the song.
However far, however long —
I'm with you. I'm with you. In the song.
by Dad
A note on the music: iPhone has been taking violin lessons for several years now, and on weekends she goes to a music production class, using an Akai MPK Mini controller hooked up to her iPad to learn how to build her own songs. She also plays flute in her school's marching band. Nano takes weekly piano lessons and loves to dance, having studied modern dance. She's always singing, and always happy.
