Songs on the Wind

By C. Scott Fulton

This book is a collection of most of my songs, recast as poems. They were written over a fifty-year period, and, over that time, my experiences have grown and my sensibilities have shifted in various ways. But it seems to me that we are all on a very similar journey. And my hope is that there is something in here for you—that the songs on the wind that have come to me, moved me, carried me, will help sing you homeward as well.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 19, 2019
• ISBN: 9781728333854

C. Scott Fulton

Scott Fulton has had a full and varied life. He started writing songs when he was in his mid-twenties, a passion that carried him through many years writing for and playing with the band, The Companions; into playwriting in the form of his musical, “Miriam,” to the creation of many other music programs and individual compositions. While music has been his passion, his “day job” has always been rather involved. As one of the world’s leading environmental lawyers, a former top government official, judge, and diplomat, and most recently as President of the Environmental Law Institute, his work has allowed him to contribute to environmental protection not just in the United States, but all around the world. He was also intensely involved for many years with sister communities in Latin America, working to develop cross-cultural bridges and understanding. As Scott traveled, his music traveled with him, allowing him to connect with people everywhere through a medium, a language, that we all share. His work, his journey, his music, have essentially been intertwined. This book is a collection of the many songs that have been borne of that rather special union, reframed as poems. For musical recordings of at least some of the songs, visit: www.scottcolefulton.com. © 2019 C. Scott Fulton

Book preview

HEALING

⁴

Finding the right words in the face of serious health or emotional struggles can be a test for all of us. But, to my way of thinking, the gift of words is much less important than the simple gift of our presence. By our presence we convey that the person matters, and is not alone, and this can in turn strengthen the person’s spirit and resolve. I am convinced that positive thinking by a person in need, augmented by the positive energy of others, can enhance the capacity to heal, at least in some circumstances, and that, conversely, negative or defeatist thinking can steepen one’s descent. The songs in this section reflect my own faltering efforts to share in these difficult moments of life, although I am certain that ultimately my presence mattered more than my prose.

MISTY MOMENTS

Oh life, so bittersweet

Like a rose with thorns that pierce so deep

We are captives of your mystery

Of your blessings and your pain

In the misty moments that will come

We will lift our faces to the sun

And soon it’s warmth will dry away

The teardrops of today

Though we hope and though we pray

Sometimes things don’t go our way

In our pain we shout out, "Why?

Why must we have to cry?"

Perhaps someday we will understand

How this fits into some bigger plan

Or maybe one day we will say

That this is only nature’s way

In the misty moments that will come

We will lift our faces to the sun

And soon its warmth will dry away

The teardrops of today

CARRY YOUR BURDEN

Share it with me when you are troubled

And your spirit is weary from the weight of your load

Let me carry it awhile—you know we’re in this together

When you are weak, I can be strong enough for two

Let my love pull you through

No matter what the source of conflict

I’ll be there so you’ll never need to face it alone

Lean on me anytime, feel free to take me for granted

Right now I just need to satisfy your need

So give it over to me

Let me carry

Carry your burden

Let me lighten your load, I won’t stumble or fall

Breathe a sigh of relief and let it all fall on me

And let my love soothe your aching soul

I PRAY FOR PEACE

I pray for peace that passes understanding

I pray for strength to go on fighting till the end

I pray for courage that conquers fear

For the confidence that You are near

I pray that suffering might cease and healing might begin

I WILL BRACE THE WIND FOR YOU

When you’re feeling worn and weary

When the world has left you dry

When it seems there’s no one on whom you can depend

When life’s bitter winds are blowing

Angry clouds across your sky

When the leaves break from their moorings

And the trees begin to bend

I will brace the wind for you

I will brace the wind

When you need me I’ll come to you

And I will brace the wind

When it looks like easy sailing

And the wind begins to turn

If your sailing ship should drift out of control

When white caps start to hammer

And the water round you churns

When the sirens sing their awful song

Calling you towards the shoals

I will brace the wind for you

I will brace the wind

Storms will come and winds will blow

Skies will darken this much we know

But just as sure as all this is true

I’ll be there for you

And I will brace the wind for you

I will brace the wind

GET WELL SOON

I heard you were a little down on your luck

Feeling kind of crummy and blue

If you’re needing something to pick you up

Let me share a word of hope with you

Hope you get well soon

You’re not alone; we’re all thinking of you

Hope you get well soon

Sooner or later things are bound to improve

Though today you may be under the weather

When tomorrow comes a calling you’ll be back on the move

Before you know it, you’re going to feel better

Hope you get well soon

You’re not alone; we’re all thinking of you

Hope you get well soon

LET THIS ONE BE THE ONE

I see you’ve got on your happy face today; you’re smiling so as not to be a burden

But when I look into your eyes, I see signs of sleepless nights

And I know you are hurting

I wish I had the power of healing in my hands

So that by my touch you might be made new

But the only thing that I can do is share with you this simple tune

It’s not much, but I give it to you

If a word could ever ease the pain

If ever suffering could be lifted by a song

If ever one simple prayer could lead to healing

Let this one be the one

It’s not for me to try to understand why healing comes to some but not to others

But if there might be any chance a prayer can change your circumstance

Then a prayer I will offer

If nothing else then maybe simply knowing that I care

Will help you find the strength to carry on

But I’m hoping there’s a God out there who will entertain a heart-felt prayer

Who will listen and respond

Oh God of hope, God of light, God of all that’s good and right

In a special way, be present here I pray

If a word could ever ease the pain

If ever suffering could be lifted by a song

If ever one simple prayer could lead to healing

Let this one be the one

SPIRIT OF LOVE

Spirit of love, moving above

I know your name, and you know mine

Giver of life, wellspring of light

Deep are your ways and your designs

Spirit of love I’m calling

Open me to your presence here

Spirit of love I’m calling

Help me to know that you are near

Whispering wind, heavenly friend

Sing me your song, so soft and sweet

Shepherd of peace who never sleeps

I need your arms to hold me

Spirit of love I’m calling

Open me to your presence here

Spirit of love I’m calling

Help me to know that you are near

THE JOURNEY

⁵

Life is an adventure. They say that when you die the adventure passes before your eyes. Imagine absorbing in a moment the highlights reel of a lifetime of joys, losses, loves, hurts, successes and mistakes, and the cresting waves of emotion that accompanied these experiences. It seems like almost too much to bear. But such is life, and bear it we must—and embrace it.

THE RIDE

If we don’t know where we’re going

Then we won’t know when we get there

And if we don’t know when we get there

We may never quite arrive

But that’s okay

It’s all about the journey

So just relax and enjoy the ride

Hearts uplifted, torn and sifted

Love discovered, love denied

Left bereft, but also gifted

All a part of the road we ride

Over mountains and through valleys

In the rain and under blue skies

In the dark and in the sunlight

Through it all we’re bound to ride

But that’s alright

It’s all about the struggle

So just relax and enjoy the ride

Challenges that do not kill us

Make us stronger, so they say

I guess that’s good, cause life is full of

Challenges along the way

If we don’t know where we’re going

Then we won’t know when we get there

And if we don’t know when we get there

We may never quite arrive

And that’s alright

Don’t let your heart be troubled

Just relax and enjoy the ride

SAILING AWAY

Sailing, skipping on the sea

Like a perfect skimming stone

Across the water thrown

And I am sailing

Running with the wind

Wherever it may blow

That’s where I’m going to go

Where it’s taking me who knows

I’m just flowing with the flow

And I am sailing away

Sailing, drifting upward

Like a kite without a string

Unbound by anything

I am soaring like a bird

High above the earth

And I’m sailing

On a one-way trip towards the setting sun

Ready for what lies before me

Knowing that each night will yield another dawn

Leaves me feeling free to carry on

And I am sailing

Floating like a leaf

That’s fallen from a tree

In its moment of release

And then is carried on the breeze

So perfectly at peace

Yes, I’m sailing away

BACK TO CAROLINA

⁶

Loaded up a U-Haul truck with stuff and memories

And headed south on Highway 95

You and me and the dog with his ears flapping in the breeze

With any luck by evening we’ll arrive

Going back to Carolina

Back to swinging on the porch

Though for years now far and wide I’ve roamed

There’s no place any finer to the west or east or north

Back to Carolina

Carolina you’re my home

It’s hard to say goodbye to all the friends I leave behind

Parting’s never easy, this is true

But come on down y’all because I guarantee you’ll find

A glass of sweet tea waiting just for you

There’s a farmhouse just inside of town where we’re gonna settle down

Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too

We’ll have a little country with the city all around

It ain’t New York, but somehow it’ll do

It’s not that we weren’t happy with our lives in the northeast

Many good things happened there no doubt

I know it feels like home for many folks but as for me

My North Star is somewhere in the South

Going back to Carolina

Back to swinging on the porch

Though for years now far and wide I’ve roamed

There’s no place any finer to the west or east or north

Back to Carolina—Carolina you’re my home

BUMP IN THE ROAD

I was headed down the highway, thinking I was on a roll

With one arm out the window, I flipped on the cruise control

No trouble in the distance, no turbulence in sight

I was looking at the scenery, just taking in the ride

Everything was peaceful, how was I to know?

That just around the corner was a bump in the road

I didn’t see it coming, until it was too late

Too late to steer around it and too late to hit the brake

When I came around the corner I was traveling at speed

And next thing that I knew that bump had done a job on me

Spinning round in circles and swerving to and fro

I landed in the gulley on the side of the road

Bump in the road

Almost lost my load

It only goes to show

You never know

Could be a bump in the road

Life is like a highway; it’s safer to assume

That somewhere on the way you’ll find a major bump or two

They often seem to surface when you least expect

So if you think you’ve got it made get ready for a wreck

If they catch you sleeping, it could be the end

But if you pay attention, you will bounce back again

Bump in the road

Almost lost my load

It only goes to show

You never know

Could be a bump in the road

LET’S SING OUR SONGS

Children when they’re born have special music in their hearts

And all of life is waiting for that music to impart

It may not be a melody or even be in tune

But the music is what makes me, me and also makes you, you

When you and I—the two of us—are free to sing our songs

When all the people of the world are free to sing along

No dischord or cacophany will blare across the sky

But the pure sweet song of life itself will echo far and wide

Harmonious through its variant strands

Triumphant in its grace

The symphony of every breath

Across the human race

So…

Let’s all of us sing our songs

Sing them out, and sing them strong

And let’s just keep on singing

Till the whole world joins along

Yes, let’s sing

Let’s sing our songs

NO TURNING BACK

I hear the whisper of the wind through the trees calling me

Telling me, Leave your well-worn path and step into the great unknown

With no breadcrumbs left behind me to remind me where I’ve been

I’ll throw my caution to the wind and call the wilderness my home

No turning back—I’m moving on

One path unfolds; another’s gone

The past is over, a new day dawns

No turning back—I’m moving on

All my dreams from yesterday lay around me in decay

Turning to the soil in which new hopes and dreams can grow

But for now it’s step-by-step, day-by-day, feeling my way

I may not see where I am going, but I’ll arrive someplace I know

I am not lost, if in each moment I can find a place to be

I am not dead, if I can hear my breath—there’s life yet left in me

I am not finished; I’m not through

Life is beginning now anew

A canvas ready for repainting

And the whisper of the wind through the trees is leading me

Wherever fate or God or life or love would have me go

But for now it’s step-by-step, day-by-day, feeling my way

I may not see where I am going

But it’s someplace good I know

A RIPPLE FROM A STONE

Like a ripple from a stone into the water thrown

A circle ever growing as it passes out of sight

Like the echo of a word somewhere in the distance heard

Your life’s song will carry far and wide

If you wonder whether you can make a difference

Whether anything can change because of you

Lasting is the footprint and impression

Of those who walk in righteousness and truth

If you wonder whether anyone will listen

If you say what’s written on your heart

Nothing shared in earnest will be wasted

Trust somehow your words will find their mark

Now sometimes it’s not ours to see

The fruits of our good words and deeds

But nonetheless believe there’ll be a harvest in the end

Like a ripple from a stone into the water thrown

A circle ever growing as it passes out of sight

Like the echo of a word somewhere in the distance heard

Your life’s song will carry far and wide

WASTING TIME

Time marches on, soon we’ll be gone

And yet we wish the days away

What’s there to life if not to try

To make the world a better place?

One life to live, one life to give

There’s not a moment left to lose

It’s time to start making our mark

There’s so much more that we could do

We’ve been wasting time

We’ve been wasting all our time

When the hour glass is empty what will we have to show?

And what will our possessions buy when it’s time for us to go?

We should be sowing seeds of goodness all around

So that when we’re gone and buried in the ground

What’s left of us will bring enrichment so that others might grow

Don’t you know?

We’ve been wasting time

We’ve been wasting all our time

We’ve been wasting time

IF WE STAND TOGETHER

All of us are damaged in some big or smaller way

We often feel unworthy; we often feel afraid

And out of insecurity and fear we tend to stay

Somewhere in the comfort zone that each of us has made

But if we never take a chance and never step outside

If within the walls of comfort we forever hide

We’ll always be who we always were, not growing as we might

Comfortable, perhaps, but still, will we be satisfied?

And if we choose to step outside, we can go it on our own

But, then again, we’re stronger when we’re acting not alone

A single thread is heartier when with other threads it’s sewn

And when you add your light to mine, a brighter light is shown

And when someone is with us when we’re up against a wall

Ready to defend us or to catch us when we fall

The falls become much shorter and the worries large turn small

And hurt becomes more healable or maybe not at all

So though there will be struggles and though there will be tears

And though there will be worries, and, yes, there will be fears

And though the engines of this world may grind us in their gears

These things we’ll weather, if together, we stand through the years

WHERE THERE’S A WISH

Every day the same old routine

Everywhere the identical scene

Every night I find myself wishing

Because where there’s a wish there’s a way

Have I seen all I can see?

Am I already all I can be?

Is there more in store for me—somewhere?

If wishes were horses then beggars would ride

Whenever they say that it hurts me inside

They call me a dreamer, but what’s the disgrace

I’ll sit here and dream till I’m blue in the face

And if all my dreams should fail to come true

If all my wishes should forever elude

I don’t care

I’ll not stop dreaming

I’ll not stop wishing

For wishes are horses, well worth the ride

YOU AND ME AND THE SEA

I love the sound of the surf and the wind in your hair

Lifting up from sea and making off with our cares

Let’s go down to the shore where we can set our spirits free

Where time can stand still and we can find peace

Just the sun on our faces, and the sand round our feet

Just wasting a day away down by the sea

No place else to go; no agenda to keep

No schedule and no expectations to meet

Left our watches and phones and our work safely out of reach

Brought along a few books we can read if we like

But we mainly get lost in the ocean and sky

Just wasting a day away down at the sea

Far away from the rush and fuss

A world apart from the grind

A sanctuary of happiness

To heal the spirit and ease the mind

Just you and me and the sea; there’s no better place to be

Forget about heaven, let’s stay right here for all eternity

With my love on my left, and the surf on my right

Soaking in the sun till the day turns to night

Just hanging in the ocean breeze; doing whatever we please

Just you and me, My Love

You and me and the sea

KIDS CORNER

(THE JOURNEY)

BEATRICE BUTTERFLY

Beatrice Butterfly flutters about sipping nectar from flowers all day

From red ones and white ones, from pink ones and yellow, enjoying her nectar bouquet

Fair as a flower is Beatrice Butterfly

Fair as a flower with wings

Beatrice rises to join in a dance with the rest of her butterfly friends

Darting and chasing and circling and racing, then off to drink nectar again

Oh what a dance for Beatrice Butterfly

Oh what a wonderful dance

Beatrice come please and light on my shoulder and tarry with me for a while

You always make things a little bit brighter—when I see you I can’t help but smile

Oh what a treasure is Beatrice Butterfly

Oh what a treasure to me

FRIENDSHIP

⁷

Some people make friends easily; for others it comes harder. Regardless, true friends—the ones that click on multiple levels and that are committed to the friendship in a deep and abiding way—are, in my experience, somewhat rare. The majority of my life behind me at this point, I can probably count my true friends on my fingers and toes. Next to food, water, love, and family, friends are our life’s greatest gifts.

YOU SMILED AT ME

It happened back when we first met

It was a moment I won’t forget

Just when I was most in need

You smiled at me

I was feeling kind of insecure

I was nervous and so unsure

But when I looked at you anxiously

You smiled at me

That simple gesture set me free

Let me know that you would stand by me

That you’d accept me unconditionally

You smiled at me

You smiled at me

And set me free

Suddenly my fears began to