Story Behind The Song

The song is inspired by a letter written by the American Physicist Richard Feynman to his first wife, Arlene. This letter to Arlene was actually written and dated some two years after her death from cancer. When eventually discovered a few years ago after Richard himself had passed away, it was badly creased and had obviously been read and re-read many hundreds of times.

Song Description

Letter To Arlene is a song for anyone that has lost love and cannot move on.

Lyrics

Letter To Arlene

Written by: Ian Abbott

Letter To Arlene

Verse one
There've been rats and sinking ships
I've had angels' wings to clip
I've tagged them and I've bagged them
And I've never missed a single trick

You help me keep the world at bay
People come at me to care
They are just ashes with me in the way
But I want to stand there

Verse two
I had to write a few ideas
One of my ways to keep you here
I've been afraid to show you
Although I've wanted to for several years

It was you who had the answers
All I could do was guess
It was you who took the chances
It was what you did best

Chorus
Every wild adventure you instigated
Everything was for me, so carefully calculated
We had this cool life, albeit damned ill-fated
Now I'm writing just to say
I loved you by the way

Verse three
And others like to question me
and psyche out my humanity
It's a notion I find insulting
Now I'm half the man I used to be

I'm told that I need closure
I've closed this note a thousand times
It's in its lines and folds I hold you
You know I can't leave you behind

Chorus
Every wild adventure you instigated
And everything was for me, so carefully calculated
We had this cool life, albeit damned ill-fated
Now I'm writing just to say
I missed you by the way

Now I'm two years older
I'm told that I need closure
I've closed this note a thousand times
It's in its lines and folds
It's in those that I find and hold you
I can't leave you behind
It's my solace of a kind