"Night Fishing" was the prompt. I want to say that I wanted to write about what I see as a futile attempt to satisfy oneself with something that will never give us what we truly need. That could be money, success, relationships..etc. But, truth is, I didn't really sit and think about it much before I wrote this song. The phrase 'coming up empty' came to me separately from the prompt. The prompt was not something I would generally write about but I liked the fishing references so I went with it . The idea of what it could be about came to me during the process. So, yes, it has to do with the search for something "real". We often expect it to come from outside of us and, while that (whatever "that" is) may satisfy us for a while, we often end up disappointed. I heard comedic actor Tony Hale (Arrested Development, Veep) speak about advice a friend gave him. He said he was unsatisfied even though he got the job of his dreams. His friend reminded him that he should wake himself up a hundred times a day to the present moment. "If you're not practicing contentment where you are now, you're not getting contentment when you get what you want." The link to a part of the discussion this came from is below. Great roundtable discussion, by the way. And, great advice!
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/tony-hale-arrested-development-didnt-713879#sthash.hrCnjb19.dpuf
P.S. The past ten days our family has been on an adventure. It's been insanely beautiful, terrifying, gratifying and, at times, a little frustrating but I'm grateful for every moment. We have such stories to tell. So glad to have seen so many friends I don't get a chance to see every day. It did my heart a lot of good to be able to just give them a hug. Brings tears to my eyes, really.
Coming Up Empty
It’s darker now
down by the dock
The stars are lost
the sky is heavy
Strung your heart out
on the night fishing line
Gone already
all the time you take
Just to pull the weight
There’s nothing like
Throwing out the line
But aren’t you tired
Of coming up empty
Coming up empty
Coming up empty
Coming up empty
You miss the color
Of her skin
Sun kissed
Warm and waiting
Wrap your arms
Around the mist
Cast again
Where the tide
is breaking
all the time you take
Just to pull the weight
There’s nothing like
Throwing out the line
But aren’t you tired
Of coming up empty
Coming up empty
Coming up empty
Coming up empty
You hope in time
You’ll be alright
You hope in time
You’ll sleep just fine
You hope in time
But aren’t
you tired
There’s nothing like
Throwing out the line
and
Of coming up empty
Coming up empty....
©LauraMarieMusic 2014
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/tony-hale-arrested-development-didnt-713879#sthash.hrCnjb19.dpuf
P.S. The past ten days our family has been on an adventure. It's been insanely beautiful, terrifying, gratifying and, at times, a little frustrating but I'm grateful for every moment. We have such stories to tell. So glad to have seen so many friends I don't get a chance to see every day. It did my heart a lot of good to be able to just give them a hug. Brings tears to my eyes, really.
Coming Up Empty
It’s darker now
down by the dock
The stars are lost
the sky is heavy
Strung your heart out
on the night fishing line
Gone already
all the time you take
Just to pull the weight
There’s nothing like
Throwing out the line
But aren’t you tired
Of coming up empty
Coming up empty
Coming up empty
Coming up empty
You miss the color
Of her skin
Sun kissed
Warm and waiting
Wrap your arms
Around the mist
Cast again
Where the tide
is breaking
all the time you take
Just to pull the weight
There’s nothing like
Throwing out the line
But aren’t you tired
Of coming up empty
Coming up empty
Coming up empty
Coming up empty
You hope in time
You’ll be alright
You hope in time
You’ll sleep just fine
You hope in time
But aren’t
you tired
There’s nothing like
Throwing out the line
and
Of coming up empty
Coming up empty....
©LauraMarieMusic 2014