Hold Down the Fort

“Hold down the fort, ‘cause I gotta go.
Light on the water will carry me somehow.
Don’t say goodbye, forever is not too far.
The other side’s just a stone’s throw
from love and you’ve got a great arm.
You’ve got a great arm.

You held the pen to my chest each hour you were writing.
You said, ‘Every good poem is hell and heaven fighting.’
But there’s no gates where I’m going—
I think that’s a good thing.
I want nothing kept out
if I’m losing my everything ‘cause

I had it
I had it
I had it all, I had you.

Prints on the window
Where you watched me come home.
I hear your footsteps on every winter’s first snow.
But this too shall future.
I’ll circle back honey.
When they lay me down,
I’ll hit the ground running
back to you.

I had it,
I had it,
I had it all, I had you.
I had it all, I had you.
I had it all, I had you.

NOTES:

I was a close friend of the late amazing poet, Andrea Gibson, for 20 years. We first met because we were on a bill together in 2005. We collaborated a fair bit over the years, sharing stages and I contributed music to many of their recorded poems. But more than that, we were very close friends and loved each other deeply.

Andrea sent me some lyrics in 2020 that they wanted made into a song. The lyrics were about leaving this world and being grateful for the love they had. They hadn't been diagnosed with cancer yet...I wrote the song. For mostly superstitious reasons, the song did not get recorded and released until now.

I timed it so that I wrapped up recording when Andrea was in hospice. I was hoping that they would be able to hear it. I won't know if they ever did, as that was the exact day that they stopped speaking. But, I sent the song to their partner, Megan, and she got to hear Andrea's loving words again, right at the moment that they were no longer able to speak. And that felt like a beautiful gift for everyone. The actual perfect timing. They played the song a lot in the room while Andrea slept and I like to believe that they heard it. (You can read more about that part of the story in today's newsletter.)

I poured a lot of my heart into this song; ultimately a final love gift from them to Megan, and a final love gift from me to them. Sadly, of course, it was always my wish that our superstition would have paid off and that the song would have never been recorded. But now it is my hope that the song’s core message of love and hope and gratitude might offer some comfort to all of you who loved Andrea and their words and their way in the world.

- Chris