2025 Competition Lyrics Entry:

Softly Forever by David Stout

Lyrics

I walk alone
Through the shell of a home
Where cracked portraits hang
On charred sticks and bone

When I was your mother
Your sister, your brother
Who scavenged for dinner
When this house was a bunker

The winds carved your names
With her breath where you lay
and buried you neath
All the yearning and pain

Hidden by daylight
I lay by your side
Softly, forever
I kiss your sweet eyes

The lost aren’t forgotten
Their faces remain
On the walls of the shattered
Rooms wrought in the rain

Hidden by daylight
I lay by your side
Softly, forever
I kiss your sweet eyes

Author

Bio

David Stout (Hypnomancer) is a visual and sonic artist, director and digital film maker exploring the synthesis of new forms across the arts. He is recognized for works in cinema, installation and intermedia environments integrating immersive projection as an extension of performer, audience, and architecture. He is cofounder of the seminal interactive media ensemble, NoiseFold, whose multi-screen installations, sound works, and performances have toured worldwide. Having grown up in rural Oregon, David has a long deep connection to the land, waters, flora, fauna and cultural histories of the American west.

Co-author(s)

Lyrics Competition Results

Emotional Impact:
18/ 20
Technical Skill:
15/ 20
Memorability:
15/ 20
Storytelling:
14/ 20
Imagery:
18/ 20
Total Score:
80/ 100
Commended

Leave a comment

  1. The singer/storyteller is not one person, but rather anyone who has ever lost those most dear to them. The clue to this perspective is in the verse:
    When I was your mother
    Your sister, your brother
    Who scavenged for dinner
    When this house was a bunker

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