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You Only Cross My Mind in Winter Lyrics
Always this winter child,
December's sun sits low against the sky
Cold light on frozen fields,
The cattle in their stable lowing.
When two walked this winter road,
Ten thousand miles seemed nothing to us then,
Now one walks with heavy tread
The space between their footsteps slowing
All day the snow did fall,
What's left of the day is close drawn in,
I speak your name as if you'd answer me,
But the silence of the snow is deafening
How well do I recall our arguments,
Our logic owed no debts or recompense,
Philosophy and faith were ghosts
That we would chase until
The gates of heaven were broken
But something makes me turn, I don't know,
To see another's footsteps there in the snow,
I smile to myself and then I wonder why it is
You only cross my mind in winter
Music by J.S. Bach, Lyrics by Sting
December's sun sits low against the sky
Cold light on frozen fields,
The cattle in their stable lowing.
Ten thousand miles seemed nothing to us then,
Now one walks with heavy tread
The space between their footsteps slowing
What's left of the day is close drawn in,
I speak your name as if you'd answer me,
But the silence of the snow is deafening
Our logic owed no debts or recompense,
Philosophy and faith were ghosts
That we would chase until
The gates of heaven were broken
To see another's footsteps there in the snow,
I smile to myself and then I wonder why it is
You only cross my mind in winter
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[Sting] "Well, I've got some nerve taking a Bach piece and writing lyrics to it, but he really is my teacher, and I've spent a lot of time with him, studying his work; and I became obsessed with that melody. I also felt it was exactly the right mood for this record, so I just listened and listened and listened, hoping that the narrative J.S. Bach is telling me would be translated into a concrete story - a story that I could tell. ... It was the most difficult song on the record to actually do, to avoid pathos; and you know, it was a struggle, but eventually I was convinced of putting it on the record."
Well, I understand the process referred to here in Sting's comments. I too, listen to Bach with a mad obsession. And I've been listening to Sting's" You Only Cross my Mind in Winter" from "If on a winter's night" with a similar madness. It's February here in Canada and I am playing this CD several times a day and playing the last composition with even more frequency. To me, it is about a love from another time in one's life. The lyrics do justice to Bach's melody. It's striking me now as I find myself...
Well, I understand the process referred to here in Sting's comments. I too, listen to Bach with a mad obsession. And I've been listening to Sting's" You Only Cross my Mind in Winter" from "If on a winter's night" with a similar madness. It's February here in Canada and I am playing this CD several times a day and playing the last composition with even more frequency. To me, it is about a love from another time in one's life. The lyrics do justice to Bach's melody. It's striking me now as I find myself facing the end of a very important relationship in my life. One day, i hope, my love will only cross my mind in winter.
However, the pain of my loss is causing me to grow in my music. I am going to try to do as Sting has done by trying to compose lyrics for a favourite Bach piece....Adagio in D-after Allessandro Marcello....God knows I've listened to it enough times...
Thankyou to Sting for being my teacher in so many ways. My life is richer with his music. I listen to his music as if I will learn his magic by so doing. Maybe I will.
Ruthanne
Exactly CountessBat. Exactly.