CHILDREN RIDING THE NIGHT

(The Ballad of Dean Anschultz)
Copyright 2001 by Grant Carrington


D . . . G . . . . . . . . . D . . . . G
Four students in the Caltech night:
D . . . . . . . . . G . . . . . . . A
Dean, John, Norman, and I.
D . . . . . . . . . G . . . D . . . . . . . . G
Looking for kicks, trolling for cops:
D . . . . . . G . . . . . . . . . A
We were always on the fly.
Bm . . . . . . . . . . . . F#m . . . . Em . . . . . . . . . . . . A
In Dean's Plymouth coupe, we roamed round the town,
Bm . . . . . . . . . F#m . . . . . . . Em
Speeding down mountainsides too.
Bm . . . . . . . . F#m . . . Em . . . . . . . . A
Drinking and yelling, dreaming up schemes
Bm . . . . . . . . . . . F#m . . . . . . . Em
That somehow we never would do.

D . . . . . . G . . . . . . A
Children riding the night,
D . . . . . . . . G . . . . . . A
Seeking adventure and fun.
Bm . . . . F#m . . Em . . . . . A
Leaving wisdom so far behind,
D . . . . . . . G . . . . . . . . . A
Running away from the light.

Dean was our leader; Dean I adored.
Dean was the best of my friends.
I followed him gladly wherever he went,
Never dreaming it would end.
One short year: that's all that I had,
Then I left my friends in the west.
Of all the people who have passed through my life,
Dean Anschultz, you were the best.

CHORUS

F#m . . . . . . . Bm . . . . . . . A . . . . . . D
Dean was my best friend in so many ways,
Bm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F#m . . . . . . . . . . Em
The first with whom I stayed up all night long.
F#m . . . . . . . . . . Bm . . . A . . . . . D
The best and the finest of all of my friends.
Bm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F#m . . . . . . . . Em
He taught me how to make my life a song.

We saw each other rarely across the years
As we travelled from coast to coast.
Dean became older, heavier, and wise
While I stayed foolish and lost.
I got the letter from his wife today:
Dean had been found at his desk.
His heart had been weak since the day he was born
But to me his heart was the best.

CHORUS.
Leaving wisdom just eating our dust.


Feel free to perform this song in public, as long as you mention who wrote it. (A mention of the CD, Songs Without Wisdom, and the fact that it can purchased from www.cdbaby.com/carrington would be appreciated too.) If you want to record it, however, you will have to cross my palm with silver. My brother-in-law comes from Sicily.