After three rock songs the album arrives at it's first ballad. The running order of this album - especially the start - was agonised over. Get the opening salvo wrong and momentum is quickly lost.

The final decision was made by listening to my favourite Peter Gabriel album, his third self titled one (aka Melt) which opens with three fast tracks (if you discount an introduction) before the first slow one. In seaseme street style, I like the number three! Although four is my lucky number... 

So fourth song on the album, the first ballad and the first style change. It's a folk song!!! Like woah there, where did that come from??? Les Miserables. Sssh! Kinda, I was working on an arrangement of Les Miserables around the time this song was written. Plus I have a folk background, when younger I loved the Spinners and enjoyed their concerts. In a way I also grew up in the local folk clubs, from age 13 onwards I used to go regularly whereas other people my age group were going out doing other things. But I digress...

So what is the song about? It's supposed to be about having been involved with someone and still really liking them... yet for whatever reason those feelings aren't returned. I was 17 when I wrote this and some lines are admittedly about my first girlfriend whereas others are about a girl at college (who would inspire a live Acoustic Moods favourite). Ideally for the listener it should embody one person, but I was a teenager when I wrote it!!!

This was written on holiday, probably one of the last times I went with my parents and we stayed in a French Gite. There was a log fire which set a lovely atmosphere complete with crackling, setting me off on wistful reflective thoughts, hence the opening line: "the fire is crackling as it starts to die". The later part obviously providing a metaphor for a dwindling relationship. 

In a nutshell, it's about insecurity. 

I had a very clear idea of how I wanted this tune to sound, double tracked Takamine finger pick and wall of sound including 12x strings for the chorus. That blend of acoustic 6 and 12 strings is something I intend to make a personal signature sound, especially on the follow up album. 

During the recording process the arrangement started to become embellished by Chris and Dan, the backing harmonies are a beautiful mix of their voices (bar the final chorus which is me overdubbing them). Chris has a very unusual national tuned guitar and he used this to great effect to augment my high (octave) chords, it just adds a subtle but magic sparkle from verse 2. 

Originally I played bass on this, tweaking the sound to simulate an acoustic as none were available. However I am very slow worker, during the embellishment period of this song I described to Dan how I tweaked my bass but wasn't convinced by my playing. There was a eureka moment when Dan pointed out that subsequently he had bought a genuine acoustic bass which ironically he had brought! 30 mins later and he just nailed it with a perfectly suited, understated but beautiful bass line. 

Overall this is another personal favourite of mine. It is also the sole track on this album which works just as well with the full arrangement as it does live and stripped down to just an acoustic guitar and my voice. 

I think I will leave the closing to quote to a later day girlfried who on hearing the initial recording in 2006 tearfully commented: "that is beatiful".