Pat Metheny

Dream of the Return

'Dream of the Return' is one of the tracks on Pat Metheny's album of 1989 'Letter from Home'.

The CD recording is remarkable for its variety, imagination and musical artistry, and the combining of Latin American rhythms with jazz harmony produces magical results especially with Pat Metheny's guitar playing.

While most tracks on the CD are instrumental, this song stands out because of its beautiful lyrics (by Pedro Aznar) which, roughly translated, are:

I tossed a poem to the sea that took my questions and my voice.
Like a sinking ship it was lost in the waves.
I begged it not to return without having seen the open sea
And in my dreams, show me what it had seen.
Even if it did not come back I would know that it had journeyed.
Floating all the time on calm or stormy seas
Even though some safe haven waits.
I waited long for its answer and almost gave up hope,
And with a yearning voice I cried desperately to the heavens.
Much later, somehow, it was washed ashore like an answered prayer.
Now the rolling sea beats in my veins and sets my heart free.