Irish folk duo Without Willow (Karen Kelly and Simon McCafferty), who are about to embark on their first headlining tour of Ireland, deliver a spellbinding single in “The Way Back.” It’s the kind of song that lingers in the soul, similar in some respects to childhood dreams. Most everyone, after all, imagines busting out of their hometowns, often plotting such moves with our friends. The neon lights, the magic in the air, the adventure of it all, beckon us to points unknown.
Life rarely unreels the way we envisioned, however. Our dreams aren’t dashed so much as delayed, pushed back time and again, for a myriad of reasons—from familial responsibilities to financial concerns to meeting that special someone and starting a family of our own. Some are haunted by the “what ifs,” even become bitter, though the bulk of us are more accepting. At the same time, we realize, those dreams and visions of yore were a crossroads not just for us, but our friends. That they hung a right when we took a left—such is life, right? We drift apart from childhood pals with neither a bang nor a whimper. As Kelly sings here, “Without us knowing we never said goodbye/But the curtain fell for us one last time.”
“The Way Back” is a beautiful song of friendship, of catching up with a childhood pal. The dreams may no longer be the same, but the memories—and love—remain.
The Old Grey Cat 