[CONTINUE DIRECTLY FROM PART I — SAME key, tempo, melody and room | NO count-in, NO fresh intro | LOW-E drone already sounding] [PIEDMONT GUITAR carries the farewell motif inherited from Part I | subtly altered syncopation | 12-string recognizes and answers] Verse 1 [LOW MALE VOCAL — same voice and melodic character as Part I | quieter, more distant] Spring came back without him, Summer followed spring, Autumn painted every hillside, Winter took most everything. Letters came, then fewer, Then there weren't any more, Still she'd sometimes catch herself Listening at the door. [12-STRING — original farewell motif, very softly | LOW-E drone] Nobody told her what had happened. Nobody really knew. The years just kept on coming... Like years are bound to do. Chorus [Same melodic architecture as Part I chorus | clawhammer enters gently | more wistful than mournful] The music came home, Though the singer never did, Passed from hand to weathered hand, From an old one to a kid. Nobody knew who wrote it, Nobody knew how long— The name had disappeared, But everybody knew the song. [12-STRING — quote ORIGINAL Part-I motif exactly | let silence follow] Verse 2 One night somebody played it By a fire burning low, A tune that felt remembered Though nobody seemed to know. An old man found the harmony, A young hand found the air, Someone said, “I've heard that somewhere...” But couldn't tell you where. [CLAWHAMMER — takes motif from 12-string | transforms it through brush/drop-thumb] Then another pair of hands learned, Changed a note and passed it on— And every time somebody played it, Something lost kept moving on. Chorus The music came home, Though the singer never did, Passed from hand to weathered hand, From an old one to a kid. It wandered farther than he could, Stayed longer than he'd gone— The name had disappeared, But everybody knew the song. Instrumental Journey [NO VOCAL — SAME FAREWELL MOTIF travels between instruments] [12-STRING — original E-Dorian melody | LOW-E drone = HOME] [CLAWHAMMER — inherits melody | Appalachian brush/drop-thumb, open drones] [PIEDMONT GUITAR — inherits CLAWHAMMER variation | alternating thumb + syncopated treble] [MODE remains E DORIAN | emphasize ♭3 and natural 6 | each instrument changes ornament/rhythm, NEVER loses melodic identity] Verse 3 It crossed a stretch of water, Climbed a mountain, found a town, Changed a note in Carolina, Lost another farther down. Some played it fast for dancing, Some played it slow alone, Every place that ever held it Put a little something on. Nobody owned the music. That's not what music's for. It belonged to every pair of hands That carried it one mile more. Bridge [INSTRUMENTS gradually thin | Piedmont first, then clawhammer | 12-string remains] Don't go looking for a shadow. Don't wait for footsteps at the door. Some ghosts don't wear the faces Of the ones who came before. Sometimes all that makes it home Is a melody they knew— And every time somebody plays it, [PAUSE] A little piece comes through. [12-STRING — Part-I farewell motif returns EXACTLY] Reprise [VOCAL — intimate, nearly remembered rather than sung] Go where you must go... Come home if you can... [VOCAL STOPS — 12-STRING completes familiar melody instrumentally] [LONG LOW-E DRONE] Final Chorus [ALL THREE return gently | interlocking, NEVER bigger/louder] The music came home, Though the singer never did, Passed from hand to weathered hand, From an old one to a kid. Hands grow still and names get weathered, But the old tune carries on— The name may disappear, But somebody knows the song. Outro [PIEDMONT drops out] [CLAWHAMMER drops out] [12-STRING ALONE — original farewell melody over LOW-E drone] [12-STRING gradually incorporates ONE subtle Piedmont syncopation + ONE clawhammer-derived rhythmic ornament — the melody has returned home CHANGED] [LOW MALE VOCAL — almost spoken] He went where he had to go. [PAUSE] But the music came home. [12-STRING — natural 6 → 5 → ♭3 → tonic | LOW E continues] [NO FINAL CADENCE | let drone fade naturally]
