The night is so wild, and downstairs the child,
Is sleeping, her spirit is free,
For more than an hour, I have walked in the rain,
I've been wondering what she will be,
But where are the heroes, where are the dreams,
That I had, when I was young,
Am I hoping in vain, just to think,
She could change anything?
Well I'm counting on you;
I'm counting on you to bring that sweet gentleness,
To your world and all that you do,
My generation is losing its way,
We don't know, what we're leaving for you,
So may there be millions who feel like you do,
Oh my love,
There is so much to know,
There is so far to go,
But you are not alone,
When this is your world,
And I'm counting on you;
Come to me, turn to me, give me your eyes,
When you see the mysteries of time,
Here there are those who just live in the past,
They will never let history lie,
And this sad little island is breaking my heart,
With its dark,
Shades of green,
And as hard as I try, I just cannot see why,
This should be...
I'm counting on you,
There is so much to know,
There is so far to go,
But you are not alone,
When this is your world,
And I'm counting on you,
I'm counting on you...
"Was it inspired by Rosanna or by a W.B.Yeats poem, A Prayer For My Daughter? Well, Rosanna wasn't born at the time I wrote this song - as for the poem; to a certain extent, yes. A Prayer For My Daughter is about the father, Yeats, thinking about the future for his child. His poem is a lovely poem and I wanted to write a song about, if I had a daughter, how would I feel about her. And I did have a daughter two years later. There's a bit in the song about Ireland - which I don't write about very often - but there's a line 'Here there are those that just live in the past. They will never let history lie.' At least, I think that's the line! And then there's 'This sad little island is breaking my heart with it's dark shades of green.' Now, that's as close as I ever get to saying that it's Ireland - but everybody knows that Ireland is the land of 40 shades of green. So it's a very oblique reference to the terrorists who think that history - what happened 400 years ago - gives them the right to kill people now. They're totally blind to the fact that history means nothing when it comes to taking people's lives. But, yes, Yeats was the original inspiration - but that only came after I had the song well in hand."
The Getaway Gazette, May 1987
Albums
"I'm Counting On You" appears on the following albums:
