Get Ready For Winter
Get Ready For Winter
Hey all! Time to get ready for winter. The cold, cold winter is right around the corner again, so I had the idea to resurrect this little gem called “Winter Song.” This song was written over a period of several years, and was first recorded on Wayward Vessel’s 2010 self-titled debut album.
I started writing “Winter Song” in 2003. I was getting ready to head west to Portland, OR. G.W. Bush had recently declared war on Iraq. I was anxious. I was idealistic, though I knew it would be hard having moved out on my own before and failed.
I was to drive across the country in mid June with my buddy Dan, hitting South Carolina, New Orleans and LA along the way to see family. The song originally started as a journal of my leaving home, and a note to my parents as I haphazardly planned my departure. “I will be gone in the spring, but I’ll leave you this melody…” Along with the first verse, I had written a melodic line. This line was intended to be played on fiddle, but in this video I try to play the melody on guitar while keeping the energy going in the accompaniment.
It wasn’t till late 2008 that I finished writing the song. I had recently been laid off just as we were closing on our house in SE Portland. I was nervous about entering into a mortgage with the bank when I had no job, and no certainty of income. It was Michelle who had the confidence in me, and in us that we could pull it off. I realized that this song wasn’t really about my parents, or moving at all. It was about life and living it to it’s fullest. I wrote the chorus for Michelle because I had never felt the kind of confidence before in my entire life. “If ever I fell in love, I could never tell. She rings her love like a bell.” We lived on our own terms.
“Day after day in the pine, you be the lamb, I’ll be the lion, one last time.” We put in a lot of hard work to make all the pieces come together. It felt like we were venturing out into the unknown –into the “dark pines,” and we needed every day to count. To this day, I look back at those tough, adventurous decisions we made and I’m thankful for all of the love and confidence that has been bestowed upon me in the past 10 years. Winter is coming, but the heart burns and it will keep you warm.
Winter Song (Lyrics and chords by Ken Chapple)
[Intro]
| Em / / | D7/A / / | Em / / | D7/A / / |
[Verse]
| Em / / | D / / | G / / | C / / |
I will be gone in the spring, but I’ll leave you
| G / / | D / / | Em / / | C / / |
this melody Weeping Softly
| G / / | D / / | Am7 / / | Am7 / / |
in your mind
| D7/A / / | A7/A / / |
[Verse 2]
Thinking of you everyday
While I’m away
I will write home to you
Letters of my love
[Chorus]
| G / / | D / / | C / / | Em / / |
Oh if ever I fell
| G / / | D / / | C / / | G / / |
In love I could never tell so
| C / / | Am / / | G / / | Em / / |
She rings her love like a bell
| Em / / | Em / / | D / / | G / / | G / / |
so everyone can tell
[Verse 3]
Day after day in the pine
You be the lamb, I’ll be the lion
One last time
[Verse 4]
Though I may never return
My heart will still burn
For you and only you
Will yours too
