Cheryl wrote this song after the death of her father. Her dad played such a major part in her life, as can be seen in such songs as 75 Septembers, Time Taketh Away, and others. Many fans wondered how Cheryl would cope with his death, and whether or not she would sing those songs again.
This song describes the pain she went through, but at the same time, it shows that Cheryl was able to get past the pain. She still performs some of those older songs about him.
One line in particular that stood out when I first listened to the song mentioned "nervous 9th grader". When I asked Cheryl about this, she mentioned that the year she was in ninth grade was particularly stressful due to a number of things. However, each time her father showed up, everything was "all better".
You can see a YouTube clip of Cheryl performing Since You've Been Gone, one of the many great clips from hahborgurl.
- Since You've Been Gone
- Words And Music By
- Cheryl Wheeler
- A woman my age, sittin’ here cryin’
- I oughta be stronger than I am
- Oughta take comfort in wisdom or something like that
- But it isn’t that way, ‘cause sooner or later
- I’m still that nervous 9th grader
- Watching you pull us together, I never knew how
- And since you’ve been gone I’m just fallin’ apart
- There’s a hole in my life, in my soul, in my heart
- And I stare out this window till light becomes dark
- And there’s nothing that’s touching me now
- But not to complain, we’re just bereft, not deserted
- Lord knows your rest was deserved
- It’s just your absence is present in all that I do
- In the sun in the field, in the poem I keep saying
- In the hymn that some church bells were playing
- You have always been part of them but I never knew
- How could I ever begin to say?
- Surely you already knew
- What is this world with you gone away?
- How can this finally be true?
- (P) August 23, 2004
- Penrod And Higgins Music / Amachrist Music
- ACF Music Group
- International Copyright Reserved