Tom Pacheco: I'll Leave a Light on for You

Written and performed by Tom Pacheco
Album: I'll Leave A Light On For You, 2010

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The title track on Tom Pacheco's 2010 album I'll Leave A Light On For You is a tribute to his old friend Rick Danko. Carol Caffin, who worked as Rick's publicist in the '80s and '90s, wrote the following about the song in her Rick Danko blog in January 2010:

"I'll Leave a Light on for You" Of all the tributes to Rick, one of the most–if not the most–beautiful, heartfelt, poignant, and personal comes from Rick's longtime friend, collaborator, and fellow Woodstock resident, singer/songwriter Tom Pacheco. As many people know, Rick kept musicians' hours and was a night owl to say the least, often starting his day in the mid to late afternoon. Many of Rick's friends, including Tom, had the pleasure of being on the recieving end of a 3 am phone call or visit, and Tom's way of letting Rick know that he was awake was to leave a light on outside of his house. "We would sit and talk, play music, have a beer or coffee with a shot of whiskey in it," writes Tom in the notes of his new CD. "I always kept the outside light on for him." "I'll Leave A Light On For You," the aptly named title track from the CD, is raw and passionate, melancholy without being maudlin, wistful without being saccharine, as Tom imagines Rick's passage from this world to the next: They told me that you left us early in the morning The sky was black with rain and the sun refused to shine You slipped into a dream and just kept right on dreaming Beyond the speed of light, beyond the touch of time Tom's rough-hewn vocal and naked guitar--and the haunting harmony, subtle in its resemblance to Rick's mournful wail--are all that are needed to accompany the lyric and bring the listener to tears, particularly on the chorus: And I'm never gonna see your face outside my window Silhouetted by the silver moon But every now and then when I hear the midnight winds blow I'll imagine that you're standing there like you used to do So I'll leave a light on for you I'll leave a light on for you Photo of Rick and Tom Pacheco courtesy of Fred Kurland

Lyrics

They told me that you left us early in the morning
The sky was black with rain and the sun refused to shine
You slipped into a dream and just kept right on dreaming
Beyond the speed of light, beyond the touch of time

I know you kissed your wife and son before you vanished
From high above you saw the town you loved come into view
Then deep into the sky you could see the Northern border
To Canada, where every boyhood wish you had came true

[Chorus:]
And I'm never gonna see your face outside my window
Silhouetted by the silver moon
But every now and then when I hear the midnight winds blow
I'll imagine that you're standing there like you used to do
So I'll leave a light on for you
I'll leave a light on for you

The telephones they rang through the mountains and the valleys
Your name was on the wires around the world from coast to coast
The DJs played your songs
They were somber, they were sorry
I wonder where those mourners were when you needed them the most

[Chorus]

Forever in our souls, you'll always be remembered
We'll hear you in our hearts like a river underground
You always sang a song that said it makes no difference
But you made such a difference to everyone around

[Chorus]