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Fireflies

from Singles by Bill Milford

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about

This ..... is a delightful song to me. It is a delightful memory of sitting on a dock in Canada Lake, NY - late at night - an occasional owl or loon... and an occasional firefly. With a couple of drinks framing my inspiration, the metaphors started coming fast and furious and hence the song. I love the metaphor of how briefly flicker in and out of some people's lives but even just for a moment we can make a lasting impression and memory.

I did, indeed, write the last verse the next morning as I thought the song to be a bit too lofty. And my original lyric was "Ecological Psychology" which was a theory of perception I was hot on during my years at the University of Connecticut - however it suffices to say that these were the pensive observation of a psych major.

The couple of times I have played it in concert, I've as people to prep the flashflight on their phones and we kill the lights and see if they can flicker them so we have a hall full of fireflies. Pretty fun and....... delightful...;)

lyrics

Fireflies…

Chorus:*
C D G
Oooooooooooo,
C D Em
Oooooooooooo,
C G D G
Oooooooooooo,

(G) G C G
What a delight are fireflies,
G C G
Lighting before my eyes,
(G) G C G/D
As I sit by this water ,
Em/C# D
Letting loose of this day,
G C G
They remind me of how briefly,
(G) G C
Their light shines then darkens
G
quickly,
G C G Em
And I wonder if that’s how we are,
Em/C# D G
If we affect each other that way.

Chorus:

What a fine time ruminating,
By myself, I sit debating,
The nature of the firefly,
And the nature of my life,
For I am not in hurry,
To return my mind to worry,
I would rather ponder endlessly,
This moment flickering in time.

Chorus:

If we are all fireflies,
A-Lighting each other’s lives,
To whom, are we the glimpses,
And to whom, an endless flame,
And if only for a moment,
Our life shines as if we’re glowing
To whom, are we like the firefly,
That delighted me today.

Chorus:

This brief moment of contemplation,
Was sponsored by liberal arts education,
And a major in psychology,
That in my mind went askew,
But if this image sinks in,
I’ve successfully made you think then,
To whom are you a firefly,
And who’s a firefly to you….
CHORUS with tag ending

Bill Milford
7/7/17 Canada Lake

credits

from Singles, released February 1, 2019
Bill Milford - guitar, vocal
Chris Peters - guitar, vocal
Barb Siftar - vocal
Lindy Hearne - mandolin, vocal
Lynn Adler - vocal

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all rights reserved

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Bill Milford Tallahassee, Florida

Bill Milford lives in Tallahassee, FL. He performed professionally during his 20's and still plays out occasionally. He has performed with Barb Siftar, Lindy Hearne, Lynn
Adler, Chris Peters, Gail Nickse, Fred Griffeth, Richie Summa, and many other fine artists. He made dozens of dollars during his folk career so he offers his recordings without charge. ... more

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