I wrote this song during the buildup of lies and deceit that led to the current war in Iraq. My idea was to write from the perspective of a 12 or 13-year old girl–maybe from Baltimore, maybe from Baghdad–trying to make sense of what was going on, but I got stuck figuring out who she would be saying these things to. I made the acquaintance of a musician named Rob Harmon at a songwriting circle at the house of my friend Brad Warren (another great songwriter and a magnificent singer), and we sat down one afternoon to bounce ideas off of each other. Rob gave me the idea to have the song’s narrator talk to a younger sibling, and from there it just clicked. Thanks, Rob.

Again, the arrangement on the album is pretty basic. I don’t know how I stumbled on the idea of the heartbeat ostinato, but I think it keeps the song well-grounded. The guitar sounds kind of brazen, and the synth (hopefully) tempers the sound of the guitar. The synth also helps the chorus build to a peak each time it’s repeated. The extra percussion in the bridge sounds simple, but was more of a challenge than I thought it would be–I think it works OK, though.

You never had nightmares before 9/11
But since then you shout  in your sleep every night
Sometimes I shake you awake just to hug you

I wish there was more I could do to make you feel alright

I’m your big sister but I can’t explain
This talk of invasions,  bombings, and guns
Let’s just pretend that the world isn’t crazy

Tomorrow we’ll play hide and seek in the sun

Now everyone’s nervous but no one can stop it
It’s like a hurricane  rain, or a teacher who lies
When I saw some pictures of war in a magazine

It made me feel so bad I wondered if God even tries

I’m your big sister but I can’t explain
I’m scared of the sadness  inside everyone
But we can pretend that the world isn’t crazy

Tomorrow we’ll play hide and seek in the sun

Don’t be afraid–Mom will protect us
I’ll walk to school with  you–we’ll be okay
When Daddy finds work he will be strong again

Nobody knows why it’s taking so long

Some people say that the head of our country
Is out of control and  a fool in disguise
All that I know is that after the news
Mom  sometimes goes in the kitchen and sits down and cries

I’m your big sister but I can’t explain
Sometimes I feel like  there’s nowhere to run
Each night I pray that the world won’t go crazy

So we can still play hide and seek in the sun