This week’s song tells the story of the mysterious disappearance of a guy that a friend of mine was dating. Although their relationship had only been a few months long, it was getting serious. They were making decisions about the future and she was preparing to sell her home to relocate to a different state with him after he was offered a new job.
They were planning trips together and their conversations often were spoken in the future tense. One day he called her from the airport and said he was leaving town then stopped returning her calls and responding to her messages.
After sharing these details with me, she expressed how frustrated she was and she just wanted to know what happened and what the story was that led to his disappearance. I told her it was like she just wanted to know how the movie ends. “Yes!” she said – and told me I should write a song with that title.
I got to work on that and here’s the song.
We were writing our story, fine-tuning our script
When you tore up the pages and they blew away in the wind
Without explanation, you ran out the door
Crushing expectations I never questioned beforeI want to know how this movie ends
You flew away, leaving me in suspense
Is there a sequel so I don’t have to guess
I want to know how this movie ends
For the second verse, I decided to try to describe the relationship in movie genres.
It began as a romance, shifted to mystery
As the plot twisted, my world crashed down around me
You spoke your lines so eloquently
I should have known they were too good to believe
And more film references in the bridge, including a reference to the ending of one of my favorite films, “The Wizard of Oz.”
You left me on the cutting room floor
The credits are rolling, but I wanted more
Were there signs I chose to ignore?
Was this all a dream?
I want to know how this movie ends
You flew away, leaving me in suspense
Is there a sequel so I don’t have to guess
I want to know how this movie ends.
How does this movie end?
Because she had never met any of his friends or family members, it took awhile for her to figure out what happened to him, but fortunately, after some online investigation, she discovered where he ended up. Although she never found out what happened between them that led to his abrupt departure, by the time she learned where he was, time brought some healing and she was grateful to at least have some sort of closure.
Sometimes we long for the closure that we find in most movies and it’s especially fulfilling when films fast-forward several years so you know the outcome of whatever issues the characters faced. Maybe someday all of today’s mysteries will be solved, but until then, here’s a song for you, which was recorded in 2018: “How Does This Movie End?”
My Songwriting Journey 