| Bill Gable

Track

This song, the lyrics in a flamenco vein, tells the universal story of a poor man rejected by a rich woman. The impeccable Spaniard Arturo Solar plays a bittersweet solo on flugel in a Harmon mute (a la Miles) on this tune while singing a plaintive background line reminiscent of gypsy songs he heard growing up in Santiago de Compostela.

One of the real pleasures of doing an album is that it sometimes hooks you up with old friends. Unbelievably, it had been more than 15 years since I had seen Linda Tavani. Linda (who most people will know from as “Peaches” from “Peaches and Herb”) stepped in to help me immensely by putting together the soulful gospel vocal section and, as always, sang beautifully.

Credits

Bill Gable – Vocals, guitar
Jimmy Haslip – Electric bass
Alfredo Caceres – Flamenco guitar
Arturo Solar – Flugel solo, background vocals
Linda Tavani, Makeda, Michael North – Background vocals

Lyrics

like a snake, my heart has split its skin
somewhere far away it blew
god knows why I let you in
I came so close to loving you

you’re not to blame, you were born too beautiful
it’s the only thing you ever knew
your soul so unscrutable
I came so close to loving you

I lit a fire in you
that you can’t deny
we both know you were terrified
by the wild ride we could have had together

but you ran home to your mansion on the hill
you had your gypsy fling
you nearly tore my heart in two
I came so close to loving you

can your man keep you satisfied?
can he ride the reins like I do?
can he cool your burning thighs?
I came so close to loving you

I lit a fire in you
that you can’t deny
we both know you were terrified
by the wild ride we could have had together

late last night, while you were sleeping
I hitched my stallion out of view
and stood beyond your doorstep weeping
I came so close to loving you
came so close, came so close
I came so close to loving you

Chart

Click here to download the PDF file.

Came So Close (Excerpt)

Came So Close (Excerpt).mp3

Track