Brother Tom — A rambling adult songwriter walks a radiant road joining Merced and Los Angeles while two companion shadows, boots and an empty chair hold a memory

The songbook

Brother Tom

Words by Douglas Heyes Jr. Listen to the recorded versions and follow the lyric below.

Original Doug Heyes lyrics · AI-generated music & vocals

Calling out to an absent Brother Tom, the narrator revisits Los Angeles, departure and a period of personal disorientation. He misses a companion whose advice seemed to anticipate the future and asks for help finding solid ground again. Music and dreams become ways of maintaining a connection beyond their separation.

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Recorded versions

3 recordings. Different voices and arrangements bring another side of the song into the light.

Lyrics

Brother Tom

Words by Douglas Heyes Jr

Save Lyrics as Text
BROTHER TOM

O, Brother Tom, Brother Tom
Won't you tell me where you’ve Gone?
I, myself, am Gone so Long
I don't know my Right from Wrong
So, won't you listen to my Song?
Was a time I Worked all day
Down in Old Downtown LA
Brother Tom, Brother Tom, please tell me why you went Away

You were here, Walking Beside me
I could hear your Voice Inside me
When all the things you had to say
All turned out to be that way
When the Stars came out to Play
With the Moon over the Bay
That's when I had to leave LA
To the City by the Bay

I might say it was okay
To just while away the days
But in a thousand different ways
I was living in a daze
Yes, I know my Fans went Crazy
And a Couple even Died
Long before I found my way
Over to the Other Side

CHORUS:
O, Brother Tom, Brother Tom
Why have you been Gone so long?
There is still another Song
That I just forgot to Play
So, please, don't get me wrong
When it's Time to move away
Just like you, I will be Gone
Brother Tom, Brother Tom

If you could please come back my way
Like you did so long before
I was living for the day
And I just had to go away
Maybe you could come around
Just to show me the right way
Put my feet on solid Ground
Till it all just Fades Away

Goodnight for now, my Darlings
I'll see you when I Sleep
I am Somewhere Far Away
While you are Counting Sheep
But as we Sew, so shall we Reap
Drifting off to Somewhere Deep
We shall Forever Travel On
O, Brother Tom, Brother Tom
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