For this song, I wanted to explore the concept of mortality and the impact it can have on an individual’s life. The inspiration for this song came from a time in college when I took a psychology of aging class.

The song follows the story of an 85-year-old man who has lost everyone he loved and is now faced with his own mortality. He walks through cemeteries and reflects on the inevitability of his own death. But in the end, he chooses to take control of his life and visit the lake where he used to play as a child. There, he reflects on the life he has lived and the dreams he had as a young boy.

I wrote this song to explore the human condition and the resilience that lies within us all. Despite the challenges and losses we may face in life, we have the power to choose how we respond and what we make of our time here on earth. I hope that this song inspires listeners to reflect on their own lives and find the strength to live fully and embrace every moment.

By the time that he was 85, his mother, father and sister died
His eyes are dry for they have cried enough for a lifetime

Now his life is like a sinking ship, abandoned with no crew in it, once magnificent, can only echo it’s glory days

Who will he become now that he knows he’ll be gone
His handful of dreams have dwindled down to none
It’s easy to ignore it when There is work to be done
For all that he lost, what will he have won?

Come the night He’ll walk his routine way through cemeteries full of graves
He never reads a single name carved into the stone

For He himself will join them, another corpse among the dead, six feet under decaying as people above forget who he was

Who will he become now that he knows he’ll be gone
His handful of dreams have dwindled down to none
It’s easy to ignore when there is work to be done
Now there’s nothing to do but to drop with the sun

On the eve before his final days he took his legs far away
Down to the lake where he used to play as a kid

And the water clear reflects a face, an old man has taken place of the young boy who had endless space to dream, to love, to live

Who will he become now that he knows he’ll be gone
His past burned his dreams but he’s kindled one last one
It’s impossible to ignore it when the work has all been done
He got to choose if he lost or he won

Now there’s nothing to do but to drop with the sun
When there’s nothing to do but to drop with the sun

If I wore his shoes, what would I have done?