The man in the photograph is me, staring down at the world from the mantelpiece. Preserved through time in a picture frame, but in my mind it will always remain. I’m the son of the son of the man I see. I know that smile, I know those eyes, I know that soul, it was passed to me, it was passed to me, it was passed to me.
Time has aged the sepia sky but the world’s the same and there’s life in those eyes. Tea stained and faded memories, but the older you get, the more you see. He loved me my grandmother tells me; I was a child, but I remember clearly. Fifty years passed and the boy grows up to see the man in the photograph is me.
In the picture he shares a smile with his wife to be, in his army stripes set against the black and white sea, beautiful horizon where heaven might be, but no man can see. She takes my hand, tells me how we look the same, and it helps the pain, now here comes the rain. Through the glass I stare into his eyes; he stares back and becomes alive. We share a moment together; he beckons me nearer to a place I’m not ready for, but I will see him again, I will see him again, of this I’m sure. Is this my reflection staring back at me? This is beyond similarity; the man in the photograph is me.
[Chorus]: And we sang Ay yi yi… said the man in the photograph is me.
My father stood alone one silent night, the stars shone down like diamond lights. Though I couldn’t see his eyes, he whispered into the wind oh so quietly, well I waited silently. Said I was just a boy, but I knew something had changed. Something inside me told me to stay. Then he looked down with tearful eyes and he said son, the man in the photograph is, the man in the photograph is, the man in the photograph is free.
[Chorus]
Alright. Let the rivers flow, let the wind blow. You say goodbye and I say hello. The man in the photograph is me, staring down at the world from the mantelpiece. Preserved through time in a picture frame, but in my mind it will always remain. I’m the son of the son of the man I see. I know that smile, I know those eyes, I know that soul, it was passed to me, it was passed to me, it was passed to me..
credits
from Man in the Photograph (2010),
released May 28, 2010
Joel Lindsey - Vocal, Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards
James Kurasch - Bass, Harmonies
Tim College - Drums, Percussion
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