Well the sun’s shining brightly on an empty beach
On this perfect late-summer day
The waves are still crashing and the water’s still warm
But the crowds have all gone away
The kids are in school and their folks are at work
And the stores are all closing down
The local residents get ready for the off season hustle
In the long string of little shore towns
Well who flicked the switch and forced the towns into dormancy
Long before any of them were ready
Where are the frolic and the sounds of freedom
Amidst the sand and the surf and the jetties
It’s like some stern father figure came to scold his children
Play time’s over, now it’s time to get serious
So even though it’s still the same as a week ago
This happy place has been rendered cheerless
It’s the end of the season
But it’s time for a new beginning.
I know it’s just dormant, only temporary
But it’s always a sad time of year
A part of the world that’s bursting with people
All of a sudden is cleared
And it all makes me think, did I accomplish
All the things I set out to do
Can I still do them and lay them to rest
Before winter comes into view
It’s the end of the season
But the new era is just beginning.
And where are the things and the people I loved
Scattered to the four winds and the heavens above
Some will come back when next spring comes along
But others will be gone, forever gone
And all alone down the boards I walk
Without your hand to hold
Unwanted circumstances may keep us apart
But (I hope) our love won’t like the seasons grow cold
It’s so easy to get complacent and lazy
And it’s too easy to let things just slide
But you’re too important to let slip away
I keep that you-and-me deep inside
It’s the end of the season
But with your hand I want to keep that beginning.
©2023 The Hesh Inc.
A recurring lament for the weeks after the end of "beach season," when it's still summer, climatologically speaking, but the powers-that-need-not-be have determined that autumn must begin. Written while I was living at the Jersey Shore, probably the last off season before deciding to move to the West Coast. Never recorded, never performed.