the brief

the third song in the karma partners track, exploring the importance of timing — meeting the right person at the right time — in the great karma dance

Govi's song Tears of Joy had infiltrated my youtube 'maybes' playlist at least as far back as the early 3.2 period in 2019. I'd listened to it numerous times, feeling a song there but couldn't find a way into the music. It wasn't until late 2020 and the start of the 3.3 subvocal channeling period that it began to reveal itself.

The first lyrics came that January 2021, just the phrase "before the twilight's done". It seemed to be the song's title, as well as the ending of the verses I could sense. Or so I thought at the time. It felt like it would be an elegaic rom-flavour song.

It was the 42nd song to start channeling, the 2nd in the 3.3 set, and the 2nd asynchronous collaboration with music by Govi.

I know we've only just met
but let's go out tonight
take a walk down by the lake
find a place to eat

later over drinks we'll watch
the sun setting into the lake
on the longest day of the year

The gist and overall structure of the song came quickly, by the end of that January. It was not a rom-flavour song per se, but an unexpected addition to the emerging karma partners track — a song about timing, about meeting a possible karma partner lover at the wrong time.

And 'twilight' was a central image, the song's setting in a sense, the place between the worlds of daytime and nighttime where the normal operation of karma can be temporarily suspended.

and in this northern clime
twilight goes on so long
it almost kisses the rising sun

and who can say what might happen
if we stayed out until the dawn
who can say if we gave love
gave love a chance

but i'm not ready for that yet
i'm still hurting from the last time
i gave love a chance
and i need to heal

so it's just for the night
a moment stolen out of time
we'll say goodbye before the twilight's done

But there were large gaps in the second and third verses where I could sense the lyrics, what they would ultimately say, but the actual wording was unclear. I also had a growing sense the title was not what I'd thought.

The gaps and title remained uncertain until after I had returned to my home recording setup early that April and resumed singing out loud. That was the period of the whole/full karo coming into its own and it was this song led the way, pulling my voice into its structure and rhythms, teaching me a new level of vocal and emotional colouration. I loved singing it. And the more the lyrics completed, the more I understood the song's message of karmic trust and acceptance, the more my enjoyment of it grew.

you see what i've found is that
in matters of the heart
there's simply no such thing
as a plan 'B'

we live we love we hurt, heal and grow
that's just the way it is
the way it's always gonna be

so when you meet someone new
you just have to trust

By the end of that May, the song's title had clarified, and the lyrics were nearly complete. But, as I've noted elsewhere, some karosongs get to the point that they are just a few lyrics short of complete, but then stall. The still-missing lyrics are usually 'fulcrums' where the song's intent is clarified or it's narrative is propelled forward. I usually understand the gist of the missing lyrics but they remain out of reach.

That was the case for No plan 'B's — the core lyrics that unified the song took another three months.

because it can hard to say if it's fate
just as hard to say it's blind chance
but there's one thing i've learned
you can say with certainty

if it's meant to be
it'll be the right person
at the right time

Yes, it is frustrating when that happens, in part because I don't like to mix and share a song before I think the lyrics are all there. This was a song I very much wanted to share.

But, as I've learned over and over, there's no hurrying a karosong. They come on their own schedule. In the meantime, I work on mastering the delivery. By the time those last lyrics came, I pretty much had the song mastered.

The first recording was finally mixed down and shared in late August, some eight months after active channeling started.

later we'll walk the winding pathways
under vincent's starry twilight
among the myriad possibilities of time

and sure in some of them we'll be lovers
who can say what else in the others
but for tonight we'll say goodbye
before the twlight's done

so no plan 'B's no see-you-laters
no phone numbers exchanged
just ships in the van gogh night
not quite in range