Story Behind The Song

A friend introduced John Anealio and me, because he knew that we both wrote songs with a science fiction theme. I quickly wrote the lyrics, sent them to John, and he quickly got back to me with the music. That was in 2011. I recorded the song for my album Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time, which was released in 2020.

Song Description

Traveling to the past to correct a mistake that led to a break-up in a relationship might seem like a good idea, but if the mistake were corrected, and the couple didn't break up, what would have been the motive to travel to the past in the first place? This is known as the "grandfather paradox" in science fiction, and "If I Traveled to the Past" considers how that paradox might play out in a romantic relationship.

Lyrics

If I traveled to the past
to change your mind
so you loved me then, and you loved me now,
would I have known to travel back in the first place?

If I traveled back so fast
that the world was blind
could I slip through time, could I slip the vine
of paradox that turns the best into the worst case?

It ain't simple, it ain't right
To turn the sun into the darkest night
If I could make it work, just one time
I could have it all, I could have you mine

If I traveled to the past
I would never tell
a single soul, my lips would be sealed
except when they brushed against your sweet face

If I traveled to the past
to change your mind
so you loved me then, and you loved me now,
would I have known to travel back in the first place?

It ain't simple, it ain't right
To turn the sun into the darkest night
If I could make it work, just one time
I could have it all, I could have you mine

If only I could travel back through time
If only I could travel back through time ....