Without You

I actually wrote a full length video screenplay for this song in 1984. I based it on a young Indian couple from the Washoe tribe in western Nevada.

The video begins circa late 1800's.. with the man, a young brave, standing on a hillside at sunrise looking down toward a grassy clearing.. his wife is running across the field.. running away from her home in the early morning mist. It continues with various shots of her running and him turning to go back to the village in sadness and wonder. Later that night, he sits alone next to a fire.. missing her.. knowing that she has been drawn away from him by a force he cannot understand. Finally, it hits him.. the shot shows his face suddenly realizing that he has to act on going after her. Meanwhile, she is sleeping under some bushes far away from home and trying to gather her energy to continue her journey in the darkness. At the same instant that her husband stands up to come after her, her eyes pop open and she realizes that he is onto her and instantly springs up to continue her hurried flight. The sun is now rising and the husband is on horseback.. gaining on her as the video shots go back and forth between them depicting each of their endeavors of progress (filmed on location, there is beautiful scenery and panoramic shots to accent the vast mountains, desert and distance of her journey).

The first subtle clue given to the viewer of the video as to what is going on in the story happens when she comes across an old mining prospector in the desert as he plods along with his pack mule. She approaches him in need of water and food and he offers her his green, plastic canteen and a sandwich that he takes from a baggie. She accepts the food and drink and continues to run away toward her destination. Later in the afternoon, the husband also comes across the same prospector. The old man points in the direction he saw the woman going earlier that morning. The chase is still on.

Finally, the camera shot shows the woman from behind (200 feet back), running up a small, barren dirt and sagebrush hillside. When she reaches the top of the hill, her body language of euphoric motions and excitement clearly shows that she is in sight of her goal on the other side of the hill (out of camera frame). The music only progresses for about 9 seconds until it shows the husband also moving up the same hillside. By now, it is dusk. The camera shot is facing east with the twilight illuminating from behind. The shot elevates at the same speed as the man on his horse when moving up the hill, though the camera continues to rise. As the shot rises above the hillside, there in the distance (a mile or so) is the very modern, very lit up, and very alive city of 1984 Reno (a VERY bight city at that time of day). When the man reaches the crest of the hill, his horse rares up on its hind legs in total fright and horror. As well, the man's body language is also depicted as being stunned, shocked and confused at such a sight.

Various shots toggle between the man and the woman. She is in stores buying clothes and trying on make-up, excited with her new life in the futuristic world she had always knew was there .. he is walking his horse down the middle of a street.. scared to death.. in total and complete confusion at the electric lights, cars and everything any person of the 19th Century would be frightened of.. though he still continues to search for her.

Finally he spots her through the window of a quaint little boutique lounge.. sitting alone at a table wearing and sleek evening dress, red nails, styled up hair, sipping an elegant glass of wine by candlelight. He ties his horse to a fire hydrant and goes inside. As he approaches her, she looks up, smiles and gestures for him to have a seat.. but he just stands there in his 100-year-old Indian attire and stares at her.

The shot then transitions to late in the night. He is sitting on a floor with his back against a wall in a darkened room.. nodding in and out of sleep. The shot then moves away from his face and zooms out and across the room. It's a modern hotel room and she is asleep in the bed wearing a satin nightgown. The shot then goes back to the man's face as his eyes get heavy and fall closed. The shot transitions to what he is dreaming about.. visions of their lives together.. the old days when they were younger and falling in love.. riding horseback together.. kissing near a lake.. and other romantic and endearing images. The final shot is of the mountains.. and as the camera zooms out, the frame widens to show that the mountains were only a reflection in the window of a high-rise building. As the shot continues to widen, it takes in the entire cityscape and a soft voice-over enters the music with a morning DJ giving a traffic report.. then fades to black. The End.

The suppose of the video is that of time travel. There are also various shots throughout the video that explain certain aspects of how it all comes together in sense (for instance, she steals a small bag of gold from the prospector's saddle bag when he wasn't looking; hence, money to pay for her shopping spree). There are also other inferences of how the story is truly depicting time travel (so as not to be construed as a couple from the 20th Century who were just living in the forest and the girl got tired of it and split).

Music: "Without You" Artist: Asia Video Title: "A Modern Wreckoning" (spelled with a "w" as to how it has "wrecked" the life of this man).

Oh, and in case you haven't figured it out.. it is a sad (very sad) video. (just thought I would mention that.. lol).

So there ya go. Hope you liked it.

"wanting things the way they used to be/ you don't know what that can do to me"......

possibly one of the saddest songs i've ever heard.....

Gazing at our sunrise Reflected in your clear eyes Misty morning forest smoke fires

-and-

One chilling thought Come screaming through the dark I saw a yellow moon at midnight

what is he try to say out of those two verses?!? smoke fire? meaning what? yellow moon at midnight? Can somebody please explain?

I think the lyric is a chilling bark came screaming through the dark. Maybe a dog was howling at that yellow moon

Those are the wrong lyrics to the song, here is the right one

"Without You"

Gazing at our sunrise Reflected in your clear eyes Misty morning forest smoke fires

Make our way through the broken day I couldn't stand to stay Without you

We must keep moving While the light is clearing Leaving your dark world behind you

You have to run Life is just begun I'll never be alone Without you

One chilling thought Come screaming through the dark I saw a yellow moon at midnight

And now you woke Glowing in the smoke I'm suddenly alone Without you

Wanting things the way they used to be You don't know what that can do to me One more day, maybe never Might as well be forever

Outside the light,fading as I write And another night reminds me

As I sleep, memory that I keep It's just another night Without you

It seems so long I've been holding on Since I felt my arms around you

Time will go, both of us will know Never be a day Without you