The Wanderer

from Reason and Romance by Chris McGraw

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about

This is the final song on the album, and the most ambitious that I've ever written. I was inspired by the painting, "Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog," by Caspar David Friedrich. I wrote the lyrics first, as a poem. It's an allegory of a passionate life guided by reason, told as the story of a mountaineer making a long journey. The poem and the music is broken into three sections, each relating to a different period of life, or leg of the journey.

lyrics

High atop the mountainscape
Sweet scent of morning dew
My body finds a resting space
My life comes into view

I am master of this rocky mound
Yet the next one gives me pause
My mind is keen, my focus sharp
I must glean the natural laws

One horizon to the next,
I remain.
A Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog

Mist obscures the way ahead
Great valleys lie below
I strain to see the higher roads
Darker lands I dare not go

Greater peaks upon the horizon
My journey takes me farther still
The path is steep and fraught with cliffs
Against each route I test my will

One horizon to the next,
I remain.
A Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog

Behind me lies those conquered goals
Where I was just a passerby
I sometimes gaze upon those hills
Occasioned by a wistful sigh

Forward, I command my feet
Trod the path I choose
Even if I lose my way
There must be better views

One horizon to the next,
I remain.
A Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog

credits

from Reason and Romance, released December 4, 2020

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about

Chris McGraw Portland, Oregon

I am a composer, songwriter, producer and musician living in Portland, OR. I create bold, thematic music with rich soundscapes, lots of guitars, and idealistic concepts. My body of work includes both rock albums and movie soundtracks. My primary influences are Rush, Joe Satriani, Pink Floyd, and Beethoven. ... more

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