Pacify

(« Family » by Jo Christian Oterhals)

At some point during this past winter, I thought it would be interesting to see if I could come up with a bunch of songs that I could play on my own, without the need of a backing band. I had always wanted to try my luck at busking, but because of the demands of Poligraf, I never really had the chance to build a repertoire of original songs that require only guitar and vocals, without additional arrangements. Eventually I imagined that 30 songs would be enough, so I set out to write as much in time for the sunny season, and actually reached that goal on June 27th, when I completed the words to « 67th Heaven. »

« Pacify » is the fifth song that I wrote for this project. I chose to share this one first because I especially like how it turned out, not only in terms of contents, but also in how the poetry is structured and how the verses are linked together. The lyrics follow below. Possibly, I will republish them later with an audio or video clip if I can find some time to record demos, but for now I hope you enjoy the words as much as I do.

verse 1
no aces up your sleeve
you didn't have your way
no luck you're stuck
peace is kept at bay

unwilling to receive
the lesson of the day
fate daunts life wants
a price too high to pay

you're inclined to leave
however if you stay
maybe you'll see
further shades of grey

you'll find no reprieve
dwelling on what is wrong
hold on be strong

verse 2
a future misconceived
has brought you to dismay
aligned you'll find
distress goes away

the mirror will relieve
as you meet it halfway
express no less
than you're afraid to say

and if you don't deceive
it will never betray
progress confess
in all naiveté

of faults it will bereave
and false views it will sway
make do be you

verse 3
you don't have to grieve
if you don't go astray
stick to true blue
and remember to play

there will be greener leaves
in the month of may
all you went through
sunshine will allay

and if you can't believe
it doesn't hurt to pray
maybe you'll see
it's a better way

life its tapestry weaves
its wisdom to convey
endure be pure

chorus
ongoing and hardly fully told
the making of our hearts of gold
amazing how you play your part
echoing pacify my heart

amazing how you pacify my heart
echoing how you pacify my heart
amazing how you pacify my heart