A Stillness in the Storm

Some songs don’t come all at once.
This one waited for the rain.
I started this song in 2006 but it lingered unfinished for over a year—an open question. Then, the summer of 2007, while Jo was at work and the house on Burns Street held its breath, the monsoon came. I had a mic open, not to record the storm, but it caught it anyway. The silver dollar sized drops were banging on the roof like they had something to say. And suddenly, it was there, just what this song needed. The rain drops spoke in rhythm, and they called the song home.
I believe in these strange convergences. That the universe doesn’t just expand—it listens. That sometimes we are entangled with moments before they arrive, like Einstein taught us, time is relative. Sometimes, to catch a truth, you have to be still enough to let it pass through you.
This song is that kind of moment.
It’s about returning to clarity when the world gets too loud. It’s about letting go of what you can’t fix. It’s about listening for the quiet between the thunder claps.
I don’t claim to understand it. But I’ve been there when it happens. This song is just one of thousands of reasons I am a songwriter; so I can share with you…
Sit still long enough,
You’ll hear the rain, too.
Quietly Enjoy,
Rusty

Quiet Mind – Lyrics
I saw the news today
Suddenly I want to say
I’m sorry that the world can be so blind.
There’s nothing I can do
Except sit here and sing to you
And calmly clear the chatter from my mind.

Sounds of life surround me now—
The rain outside is falling down—
And I can hear each raindrop
hit the ground,
this precious sound.

And the wind blows
through my memories,
filling me
with sweet clarity.
A quiet mind’s
an easy price to pay
to get back to my sanity
today.

I wish that I could find the words
to say
I’m sorry
for the way
the world can be.

I hopped into my car,
Drove out till I found some stars—
Out to where the sky was dark
and clear.
I found an aging tree,
Sat there with these memories,
Until my heart
was all that I could hear.

And my heart spoke to me:
It told me now
that I was free—
Free from all this burden
in my soul.
And I let go.

And the wind blew
through my memories,
Filling me
with sweet clarity.
A quiet soul’s
an easy price to pay
to get back to my sanity
today.

I wish that I could find the words
to say
I’m sorry
for the way
the world can be.

The living earth
I’m sitting on
Spins in the sky
until I see the dawn—
And now it’s quiet
in the blue…

And the wind
blows through my memories,
Fills me
with sweet clarity.
A quiet soul’s
an easy price to pay
to get back to my sanity
today.

Suddenly,
I found the words to say…
I’m sorry
for the way
the world can be.
“I’m sorry for the way world can be!”