Page 18 of Another Fox Bites the Dust

But every morning I wake up to reality

I'm trying to move on, but I'm stuck in the past

I'm drowning in sorrow, and it's hitting me fast

The memories we made, they linger on

But sometimes I wonder if it’s a mistake to hold on

Perhaps I should let them slip away like sand

Leaving me with nothing but empty hands

The melody shifts and slows near the end when he breaks into the bridge.

The things that we carry

Make us sink like a stone

To the bottom of the waters

Yet still we don’t know

We think if we keep it close

We will have some control

But we stay stuck in the muck

And the only way to move forward

Is to let it all go

I blink in surprise. The lyrics are . . . surprisingly deep. Sad. Unexpected. It doesn’t always work, mixing a cheery pitch with deep lyrics, but when it does work, it’s incredible.

My skin tingles, goose bumps breaking out on my arms and the back of my neck.

He’s not bad. Actually, he’s pretty damn good.

My heart thumps harder, food forgotten. A few minutes ago, my thoughts were running on pure bravado. But now that I’ve heard this, we might actually have a shot at something.

What if I really did this?

My mind calculates the possibilities, rushing through ideas and thinking through what I would need. How much do I need? I consider what I have in the bank, what I have in savings and retirement. What would I be willing to invest to give this a true shot?

I finish prepping my food, half engaged in the process, listening to the song again and again.

The smell of smoke jerks me from the spell of the music. I gasp and yank the pan off the stove, turning off the burner with a shaky laugh.

Pull it together, Mindy.

It’s only one song, but he must have more.

Once I’m done eating, I pull out my laptop and start crunching numbers, making a list of what I might need and who owes me favors.

I craft a contract, one that would offer less money upfront in exchange for a better split on the royalties.

I can work on scrounging up a few producers who might be willing to take a similar deal and work on anything else he’s got, craft some songs that are deep like this but with commercial appeal.

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