Changing Horses in Midstream
I found this song on an old cassette from my studio days, one of those late-night sessions when I sat alone with headphones on, a good mic in front of me, and my Martin D-28 ringing in my ears like possibility itself. Back then, I was sure I was on the verge of being discovered. The studio felt like the answer.

Funny enough, the owner of the building I leased was a music producer. We even signed a few contracts, but he was too close to retirement and nothing ever came of it. Still, the place felt charged with promise.

There was no way to know that I was two years away from finding tango, and that discovery would change my life far more than the studio ever did. For more than twenty years tango gave me beauty, travel, discipline, and a calling I had never expected.

Then Covid shattered that world. After months away from classes, organizing, and dancing, I had to admit that my body was telling me: it was time to step away. I needed to return to my intellect, creative self and my music, and to the quieter parts of myself that had been waiting in the wings.

By then life had already begun drawing a strange circle. Nearly three decades later, I found myself with Rodger Cloud once again, whose microphones and Cloudlifters were invented in the studio where we parted. Then after he lost his father in 2021, he asked for my help, and together we began helping one another. He became part of the next chapter of my life.

So the studio was not a false trail after all. My shot still came. It was just wearing dance shoes instead of carrying a gold record. This song is a reflection of that – in hindsight anyway.

Dark Horse
[Verse 1]
It’s a dark horse and a pale rider
That’s been blowing through my mind
At the end of the day, one toll at a time
A broken bell keeps ringing in my mind
And I’m not saying I’m a righteous man
But I think I’ve worked it out
If you give it all your energy
I guarantee it comes about

[Chorus]
This is the moment I’ve been waiting for
This is the time when I will rise
This is the day of the open door
Hey, oh, now watch me rise

[Verse 2]
Like a lost train moaning out of time
I’ve been sliding down these rails
Is this the break that I’ve been waiting for
Or just another way to fail
’Cause I’ve been wandering way too long
I’ve been taking my sweet time
Now I fear that I might come apart
Like a flag on the front of the battle line

[Bridge]
I’ve been cut by my own choices
I’ve been humbled by the night
Now I’m rising like a wounded bird
Now I’ll finally catch my flight

[Chorus]
This is the moment I’ve been waiting for
This is the time when I will rise
This is the day of the open door
Hey, oh, now watch me rise