I had just gotten back from a Sara Groves concert.
Some of the things she said got me thinking,
Wondering how I would handle being in a difficult situation,
How I would get through the hard stuff,
Now that I'd started writing again.
My overactive imagination suggested that I'd sit down at a piano,
Start to play,
Come up with words and melodies to go along with the accompaniment.
I thought it was an odd idea,
Completely opposite how I normally write.
I always write the lyrics and the melody first,
The accompaniment always comes later,
Or sometimes not at all.
Still, I went with it,
Curious.
I thought about what I would sing,
Sitting at that piano,
What the first words out of my mouth would be.
It kind of just came to me,
"Teardrops fall like rain upon my pillow."
I then discovered that I could turn that idea around,
Switch the rain and the tears,
And still have it rhyme.
"Raindrops fall like tears upon my window."
I felt rather proud of my creative abilities
And spent the next half hour or so trying to come up with a song.
I remember quitting before I had all of the verses in,
Going to bed,
Waking up the next day,
Getting the composition book out,
And erasing most of what I'd written.
I didn't erase the first two lines,
I don't think I erased the refrain,
Though I'm not entirely sure.
I rewrote the first verse,
Wrote the rest of the song,
And decided it was good,
Decided I liked it,
Which is very rare, as I am my worst critic and rarely have good opinions of my songs.
To this day, this is the song I consider to be my favorite.
It was the first I specifically wrote to have a background vocal part.
It was the first I did not finish all in one day.
It was the first I liked.
I showed it to one of my friends at school
Not too long after I'd written it.
She'd asked if I had any special talents.
She read the lyrics and said that it could be a powerful song,
With the right melody and accompaniment.
I don't know if I got the melody and accompaniment right,
But I'm very happy with how it turned out,
And I'm very glad that I finally had the opportunity to record this song.
With Me
Teardrops fall like rain upon my pillow.
Raindrops fall like tears upon my window.
I never wanted to know.
I never wanted to know.
Falling, falling, falling, falling down.
Falling, falling, I can't stop it now.
Will I ever reach the ground?
Will I ever reach the ground?
Are You there? Do You care?
Are You listening to my prayers?
Can You understand somehow?
Are You with me, even here, even now?
This rain is beating on my heart.
These tears are hard to stop once they start.
I never thought I'd be so scarred.
I never thought I'd be so scarred.
Pouring, pouring, pouring, pouring down,
Pouring, pouring, I can't stop it now.
Can I get out from under this cloud?
Can I get out from under this cloud?
Are You there? Do You care?
Are You listening to my prayers?
Can You understand somehow?
Are You with me, even here, even now?
Falling, falling, falling, falling down.
Pouring, pouring, can't stop it now.
Falling, falling, falling, falling down.
I can't stop it now.
Are You there? Do You care?
Are You listening to my prayers?
Can You understand somehow?
Are You with me, even here, even now?
Are You there? Do You care?
Are You listening to my prayers?
Can You understand somehow?
Are You with me, even here, even now?
Even now.
Are You with me now?
(Falling, falling, falling, falling . . . )
(Falling, falling, falling, falling . . . )
Teardrops fall like rain upon my pillow.
(Falling, falling, falling, falling . . . )
Raindrops fall like tears upon my window.
(Falling, falling, falling, falling . . . )
Are You crying, too?
(Falling, falling, falling, falling . . . )
I think You are crying, too.
Oh.
Crying, too.
With me.
(Falling, falling, falling, falling . . . )
You are with me.
(Catch me, catch me, catch me, catch me . . . )
With me.
Stay with me.
The italicized, bold words are the lyrics to the song "With Me" by Mary Schieferstein, ©2010 Mary Schieferstein.
This post contains the "Artist's Notes" for a song from the EP Pour: Songs of Rain and Rivers. To view the artist's thoughts about other tracks on this EP, use the links below.
1. Pour
2. With Me
3. River Flow
4. Peace Like A River
5. Still Holding Me
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