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Recorded in July 2009, this track is an exclusive special release from www.ManishaMusic.com and is not part of her new album. "Speak, Memory Speak" is a song that walks the listener through different stages of Alzheimer's Disease, beginning with the feeling of disorientation in familiar surroundings up to the point of living in the moment, when one has little or no ability to retain new information or draw on past experiences. Through this song, I hope to raise awareness about the effects of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) on patients, families, and - ultimately - our communities. Without our memories, what are we?
Through the work of The Mad Scientist (aka my husband), the movie “Away from Her”, and Maria Shriver’s recent HBO series on AD, I have begun to better understand this disease and its workings. The song itself was inspired in the wake of the death of pop icon Michael Jackson, whose work figured prominently in my childhood, but whose career (or personal life) I did not follow thereafter. Even though my original music does not fall categorically into what we might call “pop”, I was reminded of how influential pop music can be in inspiring the masses – a refrain that you can sing along to is something that you won’t forget. I sat at the piano and out came the chorus with these words "Speak, Memory Speak". These words were inspired by a memoir entitled "Speak, Memory" by Russian writer Vladimir Nabakov – I read this book in college. Suddenly it came back to me. Thank goodness for my long-term memory. And a song was born.
lyrics
Speak, Memory Speak, Music & Lyrics completed on July 3, 2009
Verse 1
Looking left, then right
That’s when I encounter the mysteries of my mind
Dusk turns to night, and still I cannot find
My way back home
Verse 2
In the dark, I run
Through empty closets where once my memories hung
But now they are gone; Alone, I carry on
Until dawn, I roam
CHORUS
Speak, Memory Speak
Speak, Memory Speak
Loud & clear
So I can hear you
Verse 3
Now the games unfold
Hide-n-seek with the faces I have known
Your sad eyes belie what you try so hard to hide
What was ours is no more
CHORUS
Verse 4
I hear a whisper of the past
But my thoughts have lost the strength to grasp
The words fall away; the scenery fades
Nothing left to bemoan
CHORUS
BRIDGE
Feel the rain wash over my face
In the here & now, I leave all the traces behind….
CHORUS
credits
released October 21, 2009
Produced by Manisha Shahane in Los Angeles, CA
Engineered by Dave McDonald at Blackwater Studio (bwrecording.com) on Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia
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