Never say never. Never again. Or never is a long, long time. Never give up. And of course…Neverland. It seems there’s no end to the way we humans use that word. I’m no exception. I used it twice in the title of one of my old songs, “Never Neverland”. I don’t tend to write many songs based on negative or bad experiences. But this song is one.
Back in the 80’s I was touring the U.S. getting paid to sing and play songs every night. It was a great part of my life. One I’ll always remember with a gleam in my eyes. However…
There was a block of that time where it seemed like every thief had my name in his little black book. I was ripped off so many times I began to feel like a bankrupt pawn shop for musical equipment.
One such time I happened to be in Erie, Pennsylvania.
My brother and I had a nice two week booking, and we had just arrived. We unloaded the gear and clothes out of our vehicles, but I left a few boxes and assorted items in the back of my truck. It was our first night in town, we were tired from a long drive, and the truck was parked inside the hotel’s “secure” lot for guests. What could happen, right?
The next day I went down to my truck to go somewhere for lunch and noticed the hatch lift to my topper was open. Not a good sign. When I went around to look, I found papers and all sorts of things torn and tossed all around. Some of my personal property, including a can with a substantial amount of coins, was gone. As you might guess, I wasn’t pleased.
Nothing was ever recovered, and my insurance wouldn’t cover it. So, property lost, emotions vented, lesson learned. That wouldn’t be the last time, though. While I was staying in Erie I wrote the following song to sort of convey my exasperation.
Never Neverland
Sometimes this world brings my bad side out
I get so mad I could scream
I wonder why can’t we all be friends
Live and let live and share the dream
So much depending on tomorrow
Heaven only knows where tomorrow goes
Why must we beg and steal and borrow
A temporary fix; an empty bag of tricks
And it’s just like the drifting of the sand
Living in Never Neverland
Where the mind is always quicker than the hand
Living in Never Neverland
Sometimes I need just to air things out
Let the sun shine on my face
Then maybe I’ll keep emotions in check
And I’ll still trust the human race
So much at stake; so much to lose now
Can’t we understand and open up our hands
There’s so much more we could be doing
If we would only do what we’re intended to
Repeat chorus…inst…ad lib chorus to end
© 1989 Tony Funderburk
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