Bus #2
This Spring I went to Wild Feather Recording Studios in Nashville twice, I went right before and returned very soon after the shooting that took place at the Covenant School in Nashville. Because this song centers around the loss of a classmate to a gun accident, and although it wasn't due to a shooting, the feeling and sensitivity of the subject of firearms and children weren't lost on me while I was out of the studio and in the local Nashville neighborhoods, reading their papers and watching their community mourn. My heart goes out to all those who have lost and witnessed such tragedies. It most definitely made my experience recording this song at Wild Feather bittersweet and I hope that sharing my childhood experience brings comfort to others.
With fall around the corner and kids heading back to school, I always think back to my own bus rides to school. Crawling around the charming backwoods of Mason during those early New England mornings left its mark on me. Bus #2 is about a boy I went to middle school with. I was about 13 years old when he tragically died from a game of Russian roulette. I rode to school with him every day and it was the best time of my day seeing as I had a crush on him. One memorable day I got on the bus and he just wasn't there anymore and when I found out why it shocked me. I had a hard time processing his passing, I fearfully never went to his service. I find this song has helped me through it now that I’m older. His name was Josh Parker.
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About the song
Lyrics
Once knew a boy, shock of blonde hair
Freckles on his nose and baby blue-eyed stare
Baby blue-eyed stare
I watched his fingertips play with the rain
One hand on his backpack
One on the schoolbus pane
We both felt things, we both felt things
We both felt things, we both felt things
My school ride was sunshine, my school ride was sunshine
My school ride was sunshine, my school ride was sunshine
Put in a full day of being told what to do
Just want to get on and sit with you
I want to play with you, where the skies are blue
We both felt things, we both felt things
We both felt things, we both felt things
My school ride was sunshine, my school ride was sunshine
My school ride was sunshine, my school ride was sunshine
One of these days is not like the rest
Seat is empty no fall vest
He was laid to rest
We all felt things, we all felt things
We all felt things, we all felt things
My school ride was grey, my school ride was grey
My school ride was grey, grey, grey, my school ride was grey
Once knew a boy, shock of blonde hair
Freckles on his nose and baby blue-eyed stare
Baby blue-eyed stare
Contributers
Katherine Schimke, Aaron Derman, Zach Kasik,
Shake E. Fowlkes, Laurie Corbin, Douglas Corbin