​In a small town in Arizona
Where only the rocks decide to stay
Lives a lonely man and his son
And a dream still alive today
It’s the story
Of a single parent
Trying to find a way
for his son and him
to be some kind of family
like the one on TV
he watched once upon a day
He vowed
I will carry every heartbreak
And carry every scar
And I will find a way
To help those near or far
So he packed up all his pain
And kept the fear inside
And made a kind of life
To give his son some pride
To do the impossible
Would take all his strength
And take all his time
And push him to his length
Because he would have to face
All the demons inside
And this would be a time
With nowhere left to hide
Have to face the music
To give some magic a try
Every woman he’s ever loved
Has betrayed him and left him alone
And his alcoholic parents
Abused him in their home
At 13 he saw the bars
Honkytonks all around
Where lies and cruelty flourished
To the country music sounds
He watched people lie
And he watched people cheat
And he witnessed terrible things
That would steal him from his sleep
He watched women fed drinks
Until they hit the ground
And carried out to cars
To the country music sounds
And once the deed was done
And she had been used
He carried her back in
And dumped her in a booth
And no one lifted a finger
No one moved a boot
He watched women hit
And women scream in pain
And humans become monsters
As they partied the night away
And he lived it at his home
Each and every night
When you had to wonder
Will he make the light?
So many wonderful images
Stuck inside his head
And he was so alone
One day he’ll just be dead
Or trapped inside this fate
Dying oh so slowly
In that house full of hate
Oh, he had his dreams
That’s what TVs for
To show the other side
Some faraway distant shore
He had to face the cheating
That has always filled his life
Every woman he ever loved
Found someone in the night
And still he had to face
The biggest test of all
Can he forgive the music
That played behind it all
The music was the cause
For all the cheating, drinking and pain
The music was the weapon
That cooed as it maimed
He is such an old soul
Housed in a Scorpio body
And life has made him sad
And stabbed him in the back
And life has taken everything
And given nothing back
He is a living ghost
Of a boy from long ago
Then he remembered
Music saved his life
Back in 81or so
It revived his heart
When his heart was dead and done
And he embraced the music
Like it was his parents
Like it was his brother
Like it was a wife
Like he’d never done
It was all he had
And it would be all right
So he listened to pop
And he listened to rock
He listened to the music
And an idea rose from that crop
Music could give him a life
For his betrayed and broken heart
Music could be home
For all the lost and lonely parts
Radio had clearly shown
Music could be youth
If we only remember never to depart
So he built a radio station
In this lonely place
And gave his listeners youth
If their ears could find a place
And KWCX was born
And oh did it grow
And it found the people
Who unknowingly needed it so
Until they took it away
And the music then was lost
And the air was empty
And the youth was finally lost
And then an old man
Said to him one day
There is nothing for us
In a world so bright and fast
We have been forgotten
And we are not long to last
There is nothing left for us
Except our frail last gasp
As Mark watched the tear
Fall down that man’s face
He knew he could do something
To give them back a time and place
But he’d have to face the music
Those soothing country sounds
The soundtrack to his life
Where heartbreak is always found
If he could find his way
Through the hate and pain
He could build a station
And give them a place to stay
And say to each one of them
Here you weary are most welcome
In a time long past
Here you are safe
The world is not so fast
There was a time
When you were all young and free
And not bound and forgotten
By age and misery
That’s how KHIL was born
So that you could hear
The singing cowboys
Whisper in your ear
Here he gave them memories
Forgotten and so gone
That when the songs came on
They were suddenly six or twenty-one
He gave them back the very thing
They accidentally left behind
Because music is attached to memories
Memories the well springs of our life
And they thanked him
For this saving grace
And giving them a purpose
And giving them a place
And they could remember
How it felt when they were young
They thought those days forgotten
Caught in winds forever gone
Good things never last
And the time did finally come

And the whispers started
Screaming out of the dark
He’s running the radio
He doesn’t look the part
He is just a hippy
That will never do
He doesn’t know good music
Hippies never do
No one in town likes him
No one wants to work with him
It’s because he’s a hippy
All they do is sin
We have to get rid of him
Back to the way it was
Back to what is normal
In these minds of ours
Have the sheriffs evict him
Toss them in the street
Or maybe stop his pay
Can’t live if you can’t eat

And that lady called
And said I really hope you die
And hung up the phone
And he wondered why
Whatever it takes
He must be gone
And that’s they way it is
On and on and on
Until they take KHIL away from him
And what was will be undone
So when the songs are gone
And the airwaves carry the wind
Remember that he tried
To give you remember when’s
So now they have won
And KHILs life winds down
Now the music fades

And then the music is gone

 
by
Mark W Lucke
10/14/2018
©2018 Mark W Lucke