Thursday 10 January 2013

I recall

Track: I recall

(Click song name to listen on soundloud)

Album: The Exile, concept album recording
Artist: Eric Swardt


The party is going on. The guests are having a good time. Anthony is entertaining them, talking louder, as he gets drunker, and making less sense. Typical South African holiday scene! Pamela is cleaning up and serving the guests - with the help of Melissa.

Melissa is Tyler's girlfriend. She is by far the best dressed guest around. It is obvious she, or at least her father, has a little more money than the other guests. Tyler feels a little wounded after the episode with Tony. He opened old wounds, reminding Tyler about his father, or rather lack of.

Tyler takes his mother to the one side where he can talk to her in a little more privacy. He ask her about his father. She explains that his father, Hugo, left them before Tyler was born. He went to London during the apartheid times to join the fight against the regime from abroad.

When Tyler asks his mother if she still thinks about Hugo, she replies with this song.

"I recall the first time that I saw him
just like it was yesterday again
and I fell in love with him
but that love was doomed that day
we were from different worlds
different times, different roads apart"

She is telling him that the affair was not an usual affair. They were from different worlds.

"Yes, I do recall that day when we met
Yes I still recall his face
I can see his face each time
when I look into your eyes, my son
how can I ever forget
He was my first love I had
it's just like yesterday
I recall, I recall his face
Yes I do recall his face every day"

Pam is reminded of that love affair every day when she sees Hugo in his son's eyes.

This is more than just a love song. This song tells us more Hugo. In the opening song we first had a hint about Hugo, the hero. In the second song we heard that he left them. Now it is time for Pam to tell us her side of the story.

"He left us for the unknown
He left us for that place across the sea
He said there's only one way
that he could make a difference to anything
and that is by leaving this all behind"

In this verse we changed the melody a little bit. Take note of this melody. You will hear it again later on, as it will be used as a theme for Hugo, the exile.

In the next verse Pam takes us back once more to her feeling for Hugo.

"I recall he made me feel so special
He made me feel like a real woman
for the first time in my life
I recall his face, his touch
I remember his voice
I recall, I recall his kiss
on that fateful day
that day when we met"

She tells us about Hugo's motive for leaving them. He wanted to make a difference. He wanted to change things.

"Oh yes he believed that he could
make a difference to it all"

In the climax of this song (once again using Hugo's theme) Pam directly answers Tony's accusations against Hugo. In the previous song Tony said that Hugo ran away. Pam tells us that he did not run away, but rather ran into the heat of the fire.

"Your father was no coward
No he did not run away
he took the fight to a new stage"


In the first song we first hinted about the exile. He was a hero, but we did not know where he was, what he did or why was he not at the party.

 

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