My younger brother Sam, who is a professional musician, suggested a few years back when Ray and I were visiting him and his then girlfriend Jaime in Nashville that he and I should write a song together. We agreed that I’d write the lyrics and he would add the music and do the singing. I had never written a song before, but he told me to just jump in and do it. I agreed to the plan since I thought it would be fun, plus it would give Sam and me a way to work together.
Given the terrible tornado that tore within a mile of Sam and Jaime’s house just a couple of days ago which left them unhurt but devastated so many lives, I was thinking about that song. It is about a totally different subject but is entitled “Just a Little Hope.” Somehow that song seems appropriate right now given all the sadness that has occurred in East Nashville and several Tennessee counties.
Here’s the song. It makes me happy hearing Sam’s voice as he sings, especially since that tornado came so close to where Jaime and he live in East Nashville. Nothing like a reminder of how fragile life is.
Just a Little Hope by Len and Sam Leatherwood
Here are the lyrics:
Just a Little Hope
Cruising the drag in your prom gown
Circling the square, going round and round
Laughing with your friends with lilies in your hair
Smiling at that boy standing there
Hometown girl, you’re a step from freedom
Your head is full of big, big plans
Dreaming of adventures in foreign lands
But that boyfriend of yours tugs at your heart
Your whole world shifts in the starlit dark
So long palm trees and sun-warmed sands
Just a little hope
is what you need now to get your through
To help you see the future’s bright tomorrow
Just a little hope
to push away this touch of blue
and see that time
does not define,
but really only borrows.
Life passes in the wink of an eye
Little girl grows up and says goodbye
And before you know it, it’s time to go
Down to the beaches of Mexico
To live dreams that are never-ending
Just a little hope
is what you need now to get your through
To help you see the future’s bright tomorrow
Just a little hope
to push away this touch of blue
and see that time
we can’t define,
we really only borrow.
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