Houses on the Hill – Whiskeytown
It’s a terribly sad song, about the things that are just taken away from us. More than that, about the things we can never even find the words to talk about after their gone.
A woman in love, who feels the pain of separation, and the deep feeling of pride that he goes away to serve their country. And then…nothing. What is it like to just sit there every day hoping for a letter – knowing that you can’t dare wish for anything more.
And then…he’s gone and there’s nothing left but those letters. But you can’t mourn forever, so eventually you meet someone new, settle down, have a family, and live out your life. But all that time, there’s a box in the attic that holds your secret memories. Your dreams of a completely different life. Of a different family. Of a road untraveled. How could you ever find the words to tell your children that you never really meant to have them, that they are the result of some bullet fired before they were born?
You can’t. It wouldn’t be fair. And yet…you can’t just throw away those letters. So they sit there, unread for decades. An unread story, an unlit candle, a work of art never finished. They’re pregnant with meaning, but we will never be able to know what it is. We can only guess…
I love this song, thanks for posting the MP3. This is a great example of alt-country’s (and other types of country’s) ability to tell stories. While it is terribly sad, it is bittersweet because the narrator learns about his past.