sad bear

I arrived home and began to casually read through facebook status updates. Then I stumbled upon one which I simply could not believe, one which I refused to believe; the news that Tony Sly had passed away earlier in the day. Tony Sly, whose solo albums have been on perpetual repeat in my car and home for the last couple of years. Every holiday, every high, every low has been navigated with the help of a line, a song, an album. His lyrics and music have been with me for such a long time that I felt as if someone had just informed me that my best friend had died. I immediately thought of the lyrics to his (No Use For A Name’s) song ‘Feels like Home’: ‘It’s too late to talk to you and it’s too soon to say goodbye…’ and as this thought crossed my mind, that very song started to play on my itunes shuffle (from thousands of random songs). Gooesbumps shot over my head and down my spine and I stopped reading, put my head down, closed my eyes, and listened to the song. I was afraid that if I looked up at that moment in time I might actually see the ghost of Tony Sly himself. I thought of a night in London with my friend, Colin, where we watched our first acoustic show featuring Tony Sly, Joey Cape, and Jon Snodgrass and how that night had been magical… one of the best shows Colin and I had ever been to and how Colin and I, over the years, had frequently discussed the lyrics, the mind, the psyche (as we perceived it) of Tony Sly. We took a trip to Amsterdam and Tony Sly’s ’12 Song Program’ became something of the trip’s anthem album (along with Morrissey’s ‘Years of Refusal). And, believe me, it says something when ANY album gets played by Colin or myself at a time when Morrissey has just released an album.

Tony, you were a companion for the lonely. Your lyrics spoke to us and for us. I hope that you finally find the peace you were unable to find in life and that your family is able to go on and regain happiness.

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