Fredo Viola claims not to be a religious man, but ‘The Sad Song’ certainly strikes a chord with me on a spiritual level. I do not think it is entirely possible to decipher the cryptic lyrics which take a backseat to the aching melodies, but Viola’s lamentation seems to express his deep longing to honor his recently departed father.
Baby Harry
Baby Harry
Baby Harry
Be good, be good
Baby Harry
Baby Harry
Be good, be good
And go gently
and follow the Lord
He’s falling over…
Here is Fredo’s description of how the song emerged:
In March my family found out that my father had cancer, and we spent the following month and a half by his side at the hospital, where he died. I had not been doing any music for probably a month after he died and I had really buried my emotions. When I returned to my studio I decided to finish the track. It was amazing, the melody acted like those floatation devices used to bring heavy sunken objects up from the bottom of the ocean, and up came my emotions.
Also see Rod Rosenbladt’s ‘When Good Fathers Die, It’s Always Too Early‘, and while you’re at it, check out Fredo Viola’s website. It rests upon a terrifically original concept, but I don’t want to spoil it for you.
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That song is so heavy…you can almost feel the emotional pain in it, the plaintive cry of someone who is suffering. Thanks for sharing this.