Soundcloud: Next Station
YouTube: Next Station

In a rare use of AI, mid-last year I asked Copilot AI to give me several ideas for songs with specific instructions it was NOT to give me any lyrics – just the concept. I selected the idea of a man catching a train and the stations reminding him of his past.

The man in this song has caught a train and, in reverse chronological order, each station is a moment of his life that he recalls - some with fondness and some with regret, with his ultimate destination being one of reconciliation, both with himself and those he loves.

Sorry about the length - 5:47.

DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION
Style is _THUMB.STY (Thumb Fingerpicking Indie Folk)

RealTracks in style: 5068:Bass, Acoustic, Folk16ths ev16 90
RealTracks in style: 4984:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking ModernFolk16ths ev16 90
RealTracks in style: 4985:Guitar, 6stringBass, Fingerpicking ModernFolk8thsAlternating ev16 90
RealDrums in style:IndieFolkBrushesEv16: a: IndieFolkBrushesEv16b: IndieFolkBrushesEv16

Initially, I was going to use RealTracks 3554:Multi[Thickened=5] String Quartet, Rhythm PopHall Ev 085, but as I’d used that style before on other finger-picking songs, I decided to replace the strings with my own vocal ensemble – feeling this would be more personal. I recorded four part harmony (see notation notes attached) but my top part was 'dodgy' so it became three-part.

For the onboard announcer, I used 'English (British) Graceful Lady’ from English voice Graceful Lady .
Sound effect of the train is from Pixabay ‘Inside the old train’ by newlocknew (Freesound) Old train FX

Mixed and recorded in Reaper.

LYRICS
I’m being rocked from side to side by the motion of the train
It’s been a long time since I’ve travelled this way
To tell you the truth, I’m not sure why I’m coming back
But I’m lost – I’ve got nowhere else to go

This is where my wife and kids lived after they moved out
I couldn’t control my anger, learning not to scream and shout
I didn’t see Jane grow up or Jack become a man
I reached out several times but it didn’t go to plan
If only I could let them know it wasn’t the real me
But the damage’s done, there’s too much pain – I have to let them be

And I lost it all, I’m not talking ‘bout the loan
That’s just money - it’s the other things I’d blown
How did I go from bad to worse, that wasn’t my intent
Turning apologies to something she’d resent

This is where Stacey lived when we first met
She had a beaming smile that I never could forget
I’ve never felt so loved, I told her I loved her as well
It wasn’t long and we were walking to those wedding bells
Man she was so beautiful in her wedding dress
And we set up home and spent our first years in wedded bliss

And I had it all, I didn’t realise I was in it
And she loved me – every hour, every minute
I tried so very hard to be the man that she deserved
But I couldn’t say what’s needed, I was too reserved

My younger brother Bob and I spent summers at the dam
Escaping scorching heatwaves, I became a young man
Bob liked to take some risks; he did things I’d never do
And as the older brother, I felt responsibility too
Bob would disappear alone, we never knew to where
And the last I saw him at the dam – his body floating there

He was the man that I wanted to be
And I loved him – I just wished that it’d been me
I tried to be the older brother he’d have looked up to
But instead I’m living here missing your half of me

There’s our family home – my parents sacrificed so much
My life became my own and I didn’t keep in touch
Why do I feel ashamed that I didn’t make them proud
And I never thanked them – never said it out aloud
I know they wouldn’t have cared about the burdens that I hold
They’d just want to see me as they grew old

Something draws me back to resolve what’s unfinished
To put a better gloss on the life that’s been diminished
My memories anchor me in place - can’t escape the grief and shame
As much as I avoid it, it keeps calling out my name

I’ve spent so much time trying to escape these places
But here on the platform are the very faces
Of Mum and Dad and Bob, my kids and Stacey too
This phantom train has brought me here to do what I must do

Attached Files (Click to download or enlarge) (Only available when you are logged in)
Four part notation.jpg (131.48 KB, 3 downloads)
Regards,
Andrew D
Adelaide, Sth Aust
Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/SQE4btVvNVkLq74e9
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@andrewoftheantipodes