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The Faded Black & White

from Good Water Safe Camp (Remastered) by James Dean Cotton

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about

Another song inspired by one of Nat's challenges (this prompt was "book"), I was at a loss, looking at my bookshelf, until I noticed my old baby book that my mom made. Being firstborn, of course, I got the most photos, and flipping through those pictures gave me the idea for this song.

lyrics

THE FADED BLACK & WHITE

I’ve been flipping through the pages of a photo book
I found all the black and whites that my mother took
Not a one I can remember, not my birthday in September
Kind of like I was never there

Just a couple taken...before I was born
Arms around each other in a trailer court
Young and thin and cavalier and then his pictures disappear
Kind of like he was never there

Images on paper don’t mean much to anyone
Much to anyone but me
They're only made of light and silver and faces so familiar
Think of all the stories still alive
Living in the faded black and white

Christmases and Easters on a carousel
A dozen different houses, who could even tell
What the state was we were in, if it was time to move again?
Kind of like we were never there

Someday when these pages have been lost or sold
Scattered like the memories that they used to hold
Or turned to yellow plastic in a box up in the attic
It’s kind of like they were never there

Images on paper don’t mean much to anyone
Much to anyone but me
They're only made of light and silver and faces so familiar
Think of all the stories still alive
Living in the faded black and white

The day will come when all of my possessions have been analyzed
Scattered like confetti to the wind
That don’t mean they didn’t count,
Even if they never count again

Images on paper don’t mean much to anyone
Much to anyone but me
They're only made of light and silver and faces so familiar
Think of all the stories still alive
Living in the faded black and white

Images on paper, don’t mean much, don't mean much anymore
Images on paper, don’t mean much to anyone
Images on paper, don’t mean much, don't mean much anymore
Images on paper, don’t mean much to anyone
Images on paper, don’t mean much, don't mean much anymore
Images on paper, don’t mean much to anyone
Images on paper, don’t mean much, don't mean much anymore

credits

from Good Water Safe Camp (Remastered), released April 26, 2023
Words & Music: James Dean Cotton
Vocals, guitars, harmonica: James Dean Cotton

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James Dean Cotton Seattle, Washington

James Dean Cotton hails from the Missouri Ozarks where bluegrass and Americana infused an easy, 70's acoustic style. He writes and performs solo and with the acoustic duo, American Sons, in the Seattle area.

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