It’s a music reviewer’s job to… well, review music. You’re supposed to have a lot of words to describe a song. But once in a while, a song will come along that stops you in your tracks, because any description you could give it would just fall short.
And it’s because the song itself is so descriptive.
“Cheyenne” by Belle Shea is one of those songs. She lays out a picturesque set before us, and we begin with a focus on a badlands nomad main character’s journey in a second-hand camper van.
The soundtrack is an old folk song. Panoramas include the Rio Grande. Close-up action scenes involve campfires and joyful, swirling improvised dances.
That main character nomad may have invited others to join the journey, but never to have an impact on the script.
That’s where “Cheyenne” begins to put our main character in the rearview. This is a goodbye song. It seems to recognize that there have been good times, like looking at an old photo. We all want to be part of writing our own script, though. Life isn’t a ride-along.
Shea’s song has a touch of nostalgia to it, but it ends with the sound of a new start.
And oh, it’s gonna be strange to turn that page,
But I can.
Oh, maybe you can’t change –
But I can.
Instead of talking about it, I recommend you do what I did: just give it a listen, then another, then another.
