From the recording Skyhouse & Scarlet - 2001

I'm proud of this childhood remembrance in technicolor, which I felt broke new ground for me at the time.

This song celebrates a time when my list of responsibilities was as short as an 8-year-old boy. I love the mellow sound of the dual classical guitars used here, and the drums, played with brushes.

I also love:

1) The constant vocals chords in the background, inspired by something 10cc once did in the early 1970's
2) The piano 'solo' (weird, yet effective)
3) The mellow acoustic guitars (a la Red House Painters)
4) The 'Tap Root Manuscript' percussion which enters in the second verse.
5) The lyrics.... good imagery here
6) The crunchy electric guitars in the last movement
7) The chord structure of the last movement
8) The backwards guitar details in the last movement
9) The sustained feedback creeping in at the end

Growing up under blue Texas skies, the days seemed eternal when I was young.

Lyrics

Summer sky
Painted with a color
I could not describe
A forgotten shade
That reminds me... I was once a child

Autumn fire
Alight with Nature's glory
I felt a liar
A tongue-tied, twisted kid
Trying to recall
The scene, with mere words a mute choir

Absolved of the need to shade,
We played while sleepy trees shed their leaves
Dark eyes reflecting endless skies,
I shouted 'I can fly', still on my knees

Springing seed
Bursting forth from Winter's shackles
As I am freed
From these grownup boundless wires
Adult confusion

I have what I need....

Still, I would like more than the glimpse
I caught since I first saw the mercywheel
I want to meet the Man, the perfect Artist
Who can summon all I see, hear, feel.