Farewell again to the long and longer days. Midsommar yesterday was merciful providence, blowing and drying away the worst of the months of May that ever intruded on my family. My mother is alive, after it all, and is still in pain. But she is indomitable and I have learned another lesson from her, after all these years.

I’m back to writing. And to the roots of what got me going over four years ago. Song.

Working on a chapter, my best prompts and re-prompts come from music, almost random finds. Imagine if you could “prompt” the new Intelligences with song instead of treating them as Socratic Engines designed to replace the “old” Search Engines?

Watching a surreal series that had the best bundle of writing, “Northern Exposure”, the swan song was a perfect choice, “Our Town”.

I am writing (or more rather re-writing scenes in a different town, in the Northern latitudes of another world, a thousand years from now, and the song comes on. And I “know” what to do, because I have felt it first.

Anyway, here are the lyrics and tunes. Maybe you can use them too.

And you know the sun's settin' fast
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts
Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye
But hold on to your lover 'cause your heart's bound to die
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town?
Goodnight

Up the street beside that red neon light
That's where I met my baby on one hot summer night
He was the tender and I ordered a beer
It's been forty years and I'm still sittin' here

But you know the sun's settin' fast
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts
Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye
But hold on to your lover 'cause your heart's bound to die
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town?
Goodnight

It's here I had my babies and I had my first kiss
I've walked down Main Street in the cold morning mist
Over there is where I bought my first car
It turned over once but then it never went far

And I can see the sun's settin' fast
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts
Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye
But hold on to your lover 'cause your heart's bound to die
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town?
Goodnight

I buried my Mama and I buried my Pa
They sleep up the street beside the pretty brick wall
I bring them flowers about every day
But I just gotta cry when I think what they'd say

If they could see how the sun's settin' fast
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts
Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye
But hold on to your lover 'cause your heart's bound to die
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town?
Goodnight

Now I sit on the porch and watch the lightning bugs fly
But I can't see too good, I got tears in my eyes
I'm leaving tomorrow but I don't wanna go
I love you, my town, you'll always live in my soul

But I can see the sun's settin' fast
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts
Well, go on, I gotta kiss you goodbye
But I'll hold to my lover 'cause my heart's about to die
Go on now and say goodbye to my town, to my town
I can see the sun has gone down on my town, on my town
Goodnight
Goodnight

”Our Town” by Iris DeMint