Story Behind The Song

A severe ice-storm mutilated portions of the Maine landscape, blasting thousands of acres of trees, leaving a scarred, misshapen countryside in the aftermath. It seems a very appropriate and very visible reminder of what happens to the heart and soul of a people who give way before influences that harm & hurt what means the most.

Song Description

Our pursuit of pleasure and self has pushed many things of value far away from us, consigning many of them to the past. Like a wintry storm that freezes our bodies, these changes have taken hold upon our hearts, turning them hard and cold. This song surveys both the process and the product.

Lyrics

Let me sing my song, though you must strain to hear;
Still you find no meaning, yet it will be clear.
Winter cold, like steel, wraps its fingers 'round your hearts;
Soon you're way past feeling, as the Ice Storm starts.

Love's gentle flame once burned bright
In the heart of men who basked in its light;
Life we held in honor, children were our future;
Wonderful themes filled our minds;

A man's word was good; honesty reigned;
We'd lay down our lives for what we maintained;
Trust was just a given, virtue in our living;
Young and the old, precious more than gold!

What's not tightly held, though, soon will slip away,
Trading off tomorrow for what we get today:
Riches and their poison, money and its clasp;
Pleasure and its payment weaken the grasp.

Skies dark and gray filling the day;
Soon the cold rain starts covering cold hearts
With an icy layer, layer after layer;
Freezing all that's warm: Ice Storm!

Rush to find some heat down the street!
But every house is dark, every face is stark!
Didn't count the cost; what we had is lost;
In the frigid rain we remain.

Now you grasp the meaning, but it's just too late:
Hearts both cold and hard, well, they bend and they break.
Sunlight casts an eerie gleam upon the land.
See the devastation; could it have been planned...?