March from early November by Andrew of the antipodes

One of my very oldies - my records are unclear, but the verse melody and chords were written somewhere in 1981 - 82. I ditched the original lyrics because they were 'naff' - obviously meaningful to me at the time, but now upon reflection, trivial in the scheme of things. However, this song evoked a sentimental melancholy when I rediscovered it, so I have chosen to use this theme (looking back on my past) to inform the new lyrics. Besides the words, the section containing the title is new, as is the arrangement.

Lyrically, the title ('March from early November') assumes a lifetime is expressed in calendar months, and I wrote 'looking back on March' (late teens/early twenties) from my current position in early November (my sixties).

The first verse dwells on some clumsy things I have said over the years that still make me cringe. 'Left it at the railway station' refers to these as unresolved matters. The verse ends with 'choose another line' - referring to a new railway line, but also wanting to avoid putting my foot in my mouth.

The second verse deals with finding a balance between passions and loves that are sometimes competing for time and attention. In my own life, I was writing songs and playing music in my early years, and I could have allowed this to occupy my time, but I chose to focus on family, work and financial security and push musical interests to one side ('I thought the hill was too hard to climb, so I settled for a lesser view; truth be told my time was running short'). Now in my later years, I have the joy of returning to music ('I rediscovered climbing gear I used to know') while having the joy of family around me and seeing their own lives unfold, but at the cost of my health that impacts on my ability to 'climb'. However, I wouldn't have it any other way.

This feeds into the third verse/chorus where I express the joy that relationships bring, despite pain, loss and hardships.

Musically, I play bass, guitars and sing, and programmed the strings. The drums and piano have been auto-generated.