Gentle on My Mind
Embracing Freedom: Gentle Memories Beyond Words
Lyrics
It's knowin' that your door is always open
Knowing that there is always an open door and a free path for me
And your path is free to walk
Feeling unencumbered and able to walk freely
That makes me tend to leave my sleepin' bag
This knowledge prompts me to leave my sleeping bag
Rolled up and stashed behind your couch
Rolling up and storing my sleeping bag behind your couch
And it's knowin' I'm not shackled
Avoiding being restricted by forgotten words and bonds
By forgotten words and bonds
Not held back by the lingering influence of past experiences
And the ink stains that have dried upon some line
Avoiding the lasting impact of written words and stains on a line
That keeps you in the back roads
Choosing the less-traveled paths due to this freedom
By the rivers of my memory
Being guided by the memories along the rivers of my mind
That keeps you ever gentle on my mind
These memories keep you constantly present in a gentle way
It's not clingin' to the rocks and ivy
Not holding onto things that bind or restrict
Planted on their columns now that bind me
Avoiding entanglement with things that confine
Or something that somebody said because
Not influenced by what others say about our compatibility
They thought we fit together walkin'
Understanding that our connection goes beyond external opinions
It's just knowing that the world
Acknowledging that the world won't judge or forgive our choices
Will not be cursing or forgiving
Reflecting on this realization while walking along a railroad track
When I walk along some railroad track and find
Discovering that you're moving on the less-traveled paths
That you're movin' on the back roads
By the rivers of my memory
Recalling memories along the rivers of my mind for hours
And for hours you're just gentle on my mind
Your presence remains gentle on my mind during this time
Though the wheat fields and the clothes lines
Even though various obstacles and distances separate us
And the junkyards and the highways come between us
Mentions of wheat fields, clothes lines, junkyards, and highways
And some other woman's cryin' to her mother
Another woman's emotional reaction as I disappear
'cause she turned and I was gone
Leaving without notice, causing emotional distress
I still might run in silence
Possibly running away quietly, tears of joy or mixed emotions
Tears of joy might stain my face
The possibility of tears staining my face with joy
And the summer sun might burn me till I'm blind
The intense impact of the summer sun, yet not blinding me to you
But not to where I cannot see
Retaining the ability to see you walking on the less-traveled paths
You walkin' on the back roads
By the rivers flowin' gentle on my mind
-I dip my cup of soup back from a gurglin' cracklin' cauldron
Symbolic gesture of dipping a cup into a cauldron, a reminiscent act
In some train yard
Describing a scene in a train yard, recalling the past
My beard a rustlin' coal pile
Personal appearance with a beard and a hat pulled low
And a dirty hat pulled low across my face
Imagining holding you close, even in difficult circumstances
Through cupped hands 'round a tin can
A symbolic act of connection through a tin can
I pretend to hold you to my breast and find
Pretending to hold you close and finding comfort in the thought
That you're waitin' from the back roads
Realizing that you're waiting on the less-traveled paths
By the rivers of my memory
Recalling memories along the rivers of my mind
Ever smilin', ever gentle on my mind
Your presence is enduring, always bringing a gentle feeling
Comment