A Song For My Guitar Hero

Mike Allen of Doubting Gravity
Photo by Katie Strat
This is the song I wrote about the passing of my dear friend Mike Allen.  Mike was a respected musician/songwriter in Portland.  He performed in many bands over the years and was a member of the renowned Doubting Gravity when he died.  I wrote this song for him.  Andi Fawcett will be putting it to music.

The Presumpscot

Verse 1
A river runs through Westbrook
It cuts the town in two
Where Cumberland meets Brown Street
Is where I come back to you

This is all so hard to handle
There’s a buckle in my knees
I’m as lost as I ever have been
And I’m doubting gravity

I’m filled with so much sadness
It soaks me to the core
It’s like I’m drifting in a row boat
And I don’t know have any oars

Chorus
The current keeps on flowing
The tides are turning in my soul
And I can't help but wonder
Why the final bell did toll
But you broke free from your bonds
And you swam with all your might 
And left me back here raging
Against the dying of your light

Verse 2
There’s this connection in the rainbow
Like the solace of my dreams
A place beyond your sorrow
A place somewhere upstream
Because nothing else here matters
Since the sandman’s come and gone
No matter what else happens
Your music carries on

It’s like you vanished into nowhere
You just up and swam away
And the river is the only one
You said good bye to that day

Reprieve
A river runs through Westbrook
It cuts the town in two
Where Cumberland meets Brown Street
Is where I come back to you

By William B. Whalen

For Michael Allen 2013

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