With this post, I’m returning to the topic of the noted songwriter, Kieran Kane, with a song entitled “Rosie’s Gone,” about a woman “emotionally and psychologically devastated by the loss of a loved one” in Vietnam.  You can read a fine article about Kane’s album, The Blue Chair here.  I recently purchased it and have enjoyed the music greatly. For years, I’ve taught “A Rose for Emily” by Faulkner in freshman composition. Somehow the song “Rosie’s Gone” made me think of that story and the circumstances of life that alienate us or drive us inward and away from others.  I transcribed the lyrics from the CD.

ROSIE’S GONE by Kieran Kane

Rosie lives inside a house
Whose paint is cracked and dry
The fence outside is falling down
The grass is three feet high.

Children in the neighborhood
Knock on her door and run
Then want to see who answers it
But no one ever comes.

Rosie’s gone
Where nothing can reach her
Rose’s gone
Away in her mind
To a sweet yesterday when love was alive
So long, Rosie’s gone.

Dust has gathered everywhere
The shades are pulled down
Everything is still arranged
As if he were around.

A letter from the president
Still lays there on the floor
Praising a young man’s courage
In a southeast Asian war

Rosie’s gone
Where noting can reach her
Rosie’s gone
Away in her mind
To a sweet yesterday when love was a live
So long, Rosie’s gone.