Tanwood Drive (What Forever Means)
by George Zhen

“There’s more to living than just bring alive
It’s the summer sun lighting up Tanwood Drive…”

I rarely do this kind of song. But I had too. See, my in-laws were reaching their 60th wedding anniversary and everyone in the family was writing these nice memory letters and such. Now, I wrote my letter of course, but I wanted to do something more. See, my mother-in-law Toby always makes this point about how there are no “nice songs about love” any more and how she doesn’t even understand half of the somgs she hears. So here’s a challenge – To write a Song for my in-laws that tells a nice love story that she would like and understand. Thus the forced creativity that produced “Tanwood Drive (What Forever Means)” was born.

Tanwood Drive itself is the street where my wife’s childhood was spent. To hear my mother-in-law Toby talk about those days usually means a verklempt moment or two. This is where life happened for them – the pinnicle. We all have a similar place, whether it is our childhood or us as parents, where some of the most potent memories in life happen. Our dreams are still set there sometimes. For them, it was Tanwood Drive in Massepequa, NY.

The song itself is straight forward. I built it in a couple of days, saving the vocals and lyrics for a last, mad dash session the night before their big party. I went with a kind of Latin percussion flavor because, A) I had a lot of loops in that style and, B) because my father-in-law Jerry said he liked that kind of thing once. I also pestered my trumpet-playing son Cameron to come in and play a bit of the melody as well, to give it  another texture. Some mandolin for good measure and I had the feel I was looking for.

This song is so out of my comfort zone as a writer though, I must admit. It is just plain too sappy and obvious, but I’m told I should do more obvious tunes from time to time anyway.. I know a lot of my friends and family will love it, though. My other, more musically jaded friends will wonder if I have lost my mind, though. Truth is, if I could make money doing this kinda stuff, I would and could do it all day long.

Tanwood Drive (What Forever Means)
by Groge Zhen

Two kids
On the beach
Late at mnight
Caught a glimpse
Of a smile
In the light
Could it be any less romantic
All tongue-tied and frantic
One kiss and she knows

What started as a whisper became the perfect song
And they danced by the ocean to it all night long
Because of you I believe in what forever means

Tie the knot
Working hard
Sacrifice
Buy a home
Have some kids
Build a life
And it’s never perfect like a motion picture
But it’s never boring – as we know…

Sometimes it’s cloudy and it’s raining hard
And you’ve left your umbrella outside in the car
Because of you I believe in what forever means

There’s more to living than just bring alive
It’s the summer sun lighting up Tanwood Drive
And it’s all because of you that I believe in what forever means

What started as a whisper became the perfect song
And we danced by the moonlight to it all night long
Because of you I’ll believe in what forever means
Believe in what forever means