Ric Seaberg's Useful Info: Music
Smelled The Spring
Ric Seaberg
Cigarette smoking almost killed me. I quit for the benefit of my family, none of whom smoke, my wife Marie, and my son Blaine, who is disabled with spina bifida and other stuff. We would be sitting on our front porch, me in my chair, Blaine in his wheelchair, and Marie in the porch swing, and I would be puffin' away, smoke filling the air. They were kind about it, never really bugged me about it, never really said anything, they would just occasionally brush the smoke from in front of them, but not like they were annoyed. At some point, I just got this overwhelming feeling like I wasn't pulling my weight, I mean in the family, making them smell that smoke, making the house smell like tobacco, cuz lets face it my clothes and my studio and office, my car, were all pretty toxic. So one day I just quit. I was on the patches when, four weeks later, I had a heart attack. So I almost died, but it was actually a few weeks after I had stopped smoking, and was using patches, which I think are powerful, and could have had something to do with the heart attack. I dunno. So of course there is nothing like a heart attack to get you to really quit smoking, and I haven't smoked since, though I dream about it every so often, and I am certain one reason why I like going to the casino at Spirit Mountain is because I can smoke without really smoking, if you know what I mean. After a few months, I began to realize how I could smell the world so much better, which made a huge impression on me, so I wrote and recorded a song about it. It just seems like not smoking helps me be more present in my life, I mean to be here now, because I can actually smell and appreciate what I am smelling in the moment, a flower, the fragrance of the out of doors, all kinds of stuff. But I acknowledge how hard it is to quit, and if I was on my death bed right now, and had one last wish, I would say, "gimme a smoke". I try to not think about it, seems to be working.
Smelled The Spring
Copyright 2004 Ric Seaberg
In terms of all the senses, God’s proudest moment rose
When he fashioned on the face of man...the power of the nose
Just the fragrance of a daphne, tends to make me calm
And when I pass by her perfume...... I can still see my dear mom
Oh, I started smokin’ early, it was favored in my clique
And I learned to love it somehow, determined not to quit
But as the years went by I had to get a handle on that thing
And it was such a revelation,
When I finally smelled the Spring
Chorus
I smell chlorophyll a’risin’, in my neighbor’s new mown lawn
When I walk t’get my coffee, in the peace before the dawn
I can smell espresso brewing, a block before the store
And in hail the pavement sweetens, like it never did before
Bridge
Well I used to smell the car exaust , rotten eggs and dirty clothes
But only smells that made it through the smoke inside my nose
Fish inside the garbage, sewage and a skunk...
Lets just say the only things I smelled were things that stunk....
Verse 3
Now I smell the summer waiting, in the breeze my curtains send
And the cherry blossom special, which I highly recommend
And the earth below the garden, and the flowers by the swing
It was such a revelation
When I finally smelled the Spring
Chorus
I smell chlorophyll a’risin’, in my neighbor’s new mown lawn
When I walk t’get my coffee, in the peace before the dawn
And I admit there’s days that I still miss my nicotine
But I found a new addiction
When I finally smelled the Spring
Oh it’s just like second nature...
Since I finally smelled the Spring