"That’s What I’ve Been Told"

Before this song found its way into my musical A Heart Calls Quietly, it had slightly different lyrics, and a different bridge. That was in 1988. Before that, it existed as a much different song, “The Altar of aDream,” of which only the chorus survived, and even that got a complete lyrical rewrite. Before that, it was yet another song called “Starfish,” which had lyrics by Becky Talmadge. That’s a lot of evolving.

"That’s What I’ve Been Told" on YouTube

That’s What I’ve Been Told

© 1989 Brian Hutzell

Grapevine talk doesn’t mean a lot

I put no stock in such gossip, but new reports from a trusted source

Opened my eyes where they once were shut

I heard a name that I thought was hers linked up with mine,

But I must be sure

Maybe no, but that’s what I’ve been told

Love is knocking at my door; who could ask for more?

Rumors fly concerning her and I

I don’t know but that’s what I’ve been told

Tidings of an unspoken love upon the wind have been travelin’

This to you is no longer news, but I’m so relieved at this bulletin

I’ve got the same feelings in my heart for her,

But I don’t know where to start

I’ve got hope ‘cause that’s what I’ve been told

Love is knocking at my door; who could ask for more?

Rumors fly concerning her and I

I don’t know but that’s what I’ve been told

This whispering takes me back in time

Feel like a kid with a Valentine

Maybe no, but that’s what I’ve been told

Could this be the truth at last--now before my youth has passed?

Long I’ve wished for what has come to this

Love is knocking at my door; who could ask for more?

I’ve got hope ‘cause that’s what I’ve been told

Luck be with me all the way. Till the happy wedding day

Rumors fly concerning her and I

I don’t know but that’s what I’ve been

Don’t know but that’s what I’ve been told

"Starfish"

Greg found a starfish on the beach in Florida. Of everyone on that trip, the Hoover High Marching Band tip to the Tangerine Bowl in December 1981, no one appreciated nature more than Greg, so no one deserved a starfish more. I remember Greg’s bedroom was always filled with animals, both living and preserved. Fittingly, he went on to become a veterinarian. He died just a couple years ago. He was one year younger than me. I shouldn’t refer to him as “Greg,” because I always called him “Gerg.” He was one-third of the oddball recording group we called We the People in high school. We recorded one tape, The Non-Album, which consisted of eight or nine very weird songs recorded in slapdash fashion using such instruments as my Rhodes Kark I, a Yamaha CS-5 (an early monophonic synthesizer), a very old ocarina, an antique pump organ, a marshmallow tin, pre-recorded cassettes of background noise, and various whistles and kazoos. Ole was usually our lead “singer” (using the term loosely), and who knows where he is these days. Ole never seemed to adapt very well to the real world. Of the three of us, I was the most accomplished “real” musician, but my contributions to the groups were probably the least notable.

This song was another poem by Becky Talmadge that I set to music.

Starfish

© 1985 Brian Hutzell & Rebecca Talmadge

Dull against the glittering sand

A four-armed starfish

Washed by white waves

Onto the rocks

The missing limb

Lost from the storm-severed relationship

Time will heal the scar

No longer wracked by phantom pain

Hope is in the loyal four

With more effort

The four will reach as one

Into the warm ocean

And yet

If only one hope stays on

With time

A whole new being grows

"Star"

Brian Hutzell