It’s a Pity

words & music by Doug Howell (7/73)

it’s a pity
you say you can’t find
a good enough reason
to believe anymore
it’s such an art
the way you’ve learned
yourself to close your eyes
to the answers
you once searched for

you’ve got it all worked out so
you don’t have to depend on anyone
well it might seem like a foolproof plan
but it’s a fool who wants to live a life without love

anyone can see it’s a shame
you’ve got your own set of
questions to which no one
could begin to reply
and you’re so sure of yourself
and your philosophy you laugh
inside each time I try

you’ve turned your back on God when
every breath that you take comes from him
well you can laugh till the day you die
but when your life’s over
what will you have
to show for it?

anyone can see
it’s a pity

1975 Notes

I remember going to see him that night. I waited two hours—and when he came home all he could do was tell me I was wasting my time and he’d already had all his chances. He was crying out for love, I knew it, and I tried to tell him how to find it, but all he could say was “goodby” and “don’t come back” and “go save somebody else.”

I was trying not to hurt so bad but I cried all the way home.

Ezekial 18:32; I Corinthians 13:2

2005 Notes

Not much to add to this one except that time changes a lot of things. Life could be very different for my friend now. Everyone goes through phases where they’re incorrigible, unrepentant, unloving and unlovable. All we can do is hope that we come out the other side in time to find and give love again.