I was at a spiritual painting / mandala workshop in Costa Rica. My friend and painting teacher Paul Heussenstamm was talking about aging and what he hoped to feel like he had accomplished at the end of his life and mentioned, "when that tag is on my toe" ........ I thought to myself , "Now there is a song in that" , and wrote it while down there in C.R. in our beautiful house on the hill overlooking the ocean in the distance with the jungle and third world all around us.
lyrics
Tag On My Toe
Deep blue sky lies above me now
The earth is down below
As they lay this body down
There’s a tag upon my toe
What did I do between earth and sky
As I moved from Birth to Death?
Did I give my love away
Before I drew from my last breath?
There’s a light that beckons me to go…
As they put the tag upon my toe
As I walked with my fellow man
Did I lend a helping hand
To the ones less fortunate
Did I ever take a stand?
I was born into the house
That sits upon the hill
In precarious luxury
Where we all get our fill
In the far off distance down this hill
Voices rise up to my window sill
On CNN their faces show how they feel
I wonder when that child had her last meal
Light, like a million diamonds, fills the world.
Fills the billion smiles, the billion tears
Of the rich and the poor
I see it now, like never before
There’s a light that beckons me to go
As they put the tag upon my toe.
Costa Rica
March 06
credits
from River of Rain,
track released September 30, 2011
Produced by Stephen Connella
Recorded at Binary Studios- Bellingham, Wa.
and Black Bamboo Studios- Kauai
Mixed by Stephen Barncard
Mastered by Stephen Barncard
Lead Vocals- Stephen Connella
Harmony Vocals- Anjela Rose Smith
Acoustic Guitar- Stephen Connella
Bass- John Flancher and Lonny Knechtel
Electric Guitar- Stephen Connella
Accordian- Brad Reynolds
Drums and Percussion- Mike Bijuc
The new EP from Scottish songwriter Alec Bowman_Clarke goes deep, setting vulnerable lyrics to gentle melodies & stripped-back arrangements. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 30, 2021
Alec Bowman perfectly captures the dark soil under the pastoral world of British folk with this collection of melancholy originals. Bandcamp New & Notable May 12, 2020
Michelle Stodart’s folk music captures hope in melancholy, addressing the transformational aspects of the most challenging times. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 3, 2023
Recorded live at St Buryan Church, the latest from Sarah McQuaid is a showcase for the simple power of voice & guitar. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 16, 2021