
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.
Listen
Recorded versions
3 recordings. Different voices and arrangements bring another side of the song into the light.
Female Vocal · 2:54
Brother Tom — Female Vocal — Bluegrass-Soul Folk Alternate
Bluegrass-Soul Folk Alternate
Female Vocal · 3:02
Brother Tom — Female Vocal — Cello-And-Fiddle World-Folk Reinterpretation
Cello-And-Fiddle World-Folk Reinterpretation
Lyrics
Brother Tom
Words by Douglas Heyes Jr
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 *********
© Douglas Heyes Jr. All rights reserved.
