When There’s No Hope
I have known a few people in my life who have committed suicide or tried to. Some of them were mere acquaintances, but sometimes they were very close.
You are left with a mix of feelings: shock, regret, grief, anger,... and with the eternal question if you could have done something to prevent it.
This is what this song is about.
Originally I wrote this song for a soprano with a high and angelic voice.
Later I have transposed the song down for Ann and I have rewritten it almost completely. I introduced a new main theme for the violin, and made the arrangement for the verses sound more restless and uneasy.
The song ends with a lament for the deceased, based on vocal improvisations by Ann.
Many thanks to Gareth Balch for helping us out with the lyrics, and providing us with numerous tips to make them stronger and clearer. Lyrics are important in my music, and for a non-native speaker like me, it is often very difficult to know the connotations of some words. Gareth was so kind to help us to put more meaning in fewer words...
I long to see you
But you’re not there
It’s such a shame
And so unfair
You tried to speak
But had no voice
And when you listened
There were no sounds
When you cried
You had no tears
So much afraid
To go to sleep
All your dreams
Frighteningly real
You never found
The chance to heal
When there’s no hope
When there is no hope
Your heart keeps burning
Until it’s gone
When there’s no hope
You seemed to be here
But you were not
All your nights
A starless sky
Fingers groped
Within the dark
If you had known
What made you blind
Why whispers cruel
Could hound your mind
All your colours
So dull, so grey
And every new day
An old yesterday
All this time
That you let pass
Until you took
Your last goodbye
When there’s no hope
When there is no hope
Your heart keeps burning
Until it’s gone
When there is no hope
You’ve left us, asking
What could we have done ...?
What could we have done ...?
What could we have done ...?
Music and lyrics: Jef De Corte
Vocals: Ann Van Canegem