After All These Years

Song Title: After All These Years

Click Here to download the MP3 file for After All These Years

I wrote the lyrics and melody for After All These Years, but did not record my own version of the song. Instead I paid Douglas Haines to record a version of it for me.

After All These Years

Verse 1:
Sometimes just by standing still
you end up left behind
the world it keeps on spinning
part of the grand design

A diamond lasts forever
but we live day by day
what used to be a rainbow
now's only shades of grey

Pre-Chorus:
Hear the bells of freedom
calling out your name
once you turn that corner
it will never be the same

Chorus:
Run, baby run
head out on that highway
into the setting sun

Let the gentle wind
wipe away your tears
I still love you
after all these years

Oh yeah, I still love you
after all these years

Verse 2:
You used to look into me
feel the beating of my heart
and count down every second
when life kept us apart

Now the hands that joined us
are barely hanging on
the dance is almost over
they're playing one last song

Pre-Chorus:
I want to see you happy
to smile once again
just try to think about me
every now and then

Chorus
Run, baby run
head out on that highway
into the setting sun

Let the gentle wind
wipe away your tears
I still love you
after all these years

Oh babe, I still love you
Yeah, I still love you
I still love you
after all these years

-----------------------------

Reviews of After All These Years (overall song: 6.9 out of 10) from the ReverbNation.com Crowd Review service:

This is the epitome of acoustic goodness. You can hear that the vocalist is really singing and feeling the lyrics. The melody is melancholy and makes you feel emotions and touches your heart. The harmonies are really pretty and add a special touch to this song. Its a simple song, but its really pretty. The lyrics are well written.
The slow intro creating a smooth beat, a soild beat. The vocalist is rather rough, but it matches the beat and tempo! The mix of female and male vocals brings out the beat and feel of the lyrics. The song overall is original but a couple changes in the beat may enhance the appeal.
This is a very good song. The lyrics are deep, meaningful and thought-provoking. The distinctive sound of this vocalist matches very well with the strong musical composition and carries this song very well throughout. I feel like this is one of the more original sounding artists and tracks that are lacking in todays generation of music and I'd welcome seeing more tracks like this coming out.
The beat sounds kind of emotional but it can still be enjoyed and listened to. The singer sounds pretty good to me as he flows with the melody. One thing that can make this song or improve it would be speed up the instrumental and catch it up with the melody but other than that the mastering is good, etc.
The track has a man singing and not much else. he has a low growl of a tenor voice and his notes sound great. the music is non existent and the song has no life apart of it. the song is just not ready or enough to compete with the music on the radio.
Very catchy guitar to start out this song. nice folk voice. I do like the lyrics. this is something I could listen to. very soothing song. it's a sad song but it makes you feel something.I really like the sad lyrics they are meaningful. overall this is a very nice song. i like the folk vibe this singer gives off.
The guitar melodies at the beginning are very soft, and this soft quality is maintained by your vocals. Some aspects of the melodies in this song are very admirable, but more than this, the lyrics are very well written. The harmonies you use on the chorus are really great, and give the track more maturity. It's catchy, too, and has a lot of potential.
Starts off very slow and calm. The mans voice is so soothing and soft. The melody goes perfect with his voice. The guitar is so soft and calm. I love it i would definitely listen to it on the radio in my car. Its so romantic. I would dedicate this song to my husband.
The melody is too shy, quiet and timid, I could barely hear it, not a good thing for a song. The vocals are fine but they're too loud, they overshadow the melody in this song. It is best to have a balance between the two. The bass in this song is low and it should be kept that way. Decent piece.
Very cool simple rhythm guitar opening. The vocals came in and blended well with it. Very nice folk or light country feel. The vocals had heart and feeling. The lyrics are well written. I really like the sound of this song. The background vocals added just the right amount of smooth harmony. The vocals still can be a bit pitchy but the song is really well written so you aren'tas drawn to the vocalist. This is one of the better singing moments for him.
I cannot stand this old sad sappy depressing lonely music. It is not lovable at all and it sounds like the singer is just whining about his life and it has no appeal to anyone that I personally know. The harmonies in the vocals is nice but that's only because the background singer has a higher voice like a girl so it sounds sweeter. This song is boring and I don't care much for it.
I feel like the song starts out great here but dies down to other parts that just don't sound so great. It needs some work throughout the chorus. It has a great hook to be honest and it really holds a lot of power as well. It just needs some different aspects that would help the song.
The singer had a strong bluegrass fashion to their voice. I heard a lot of well played guitar portions that were very dramatic. Every verse increased in in intensity as the song progressed. This song was very lyrical and had a lush feel. I did enjoy the constructive thought put into this song.
The sound quality here can definitely be improved in my opinion. The acoustic guitar has a nice finger picking technique here, but the music is very predictable because of this. The vocals are expressive and show the real emotions of the lyrics. There are some very romantic and lovely images created in this track. This is a very sincere and heart felt song, and great performance too.
I like the low springy vibes in this song, and how low the singer starts off singing. I thought the atmosphere of the song was interesting and had a fun feel to it. He had good voice and he was good at his notes. I think with the guitar just playing, it brought a lot of freshness to the song.
The first couple beats of this song remind me of a song from the movie Tangled, but then that idea fades away as the song goes on. I am going to rate this song, say about a 7/10. In addition, the time signature, which I cannot identify, is pretty good balanced based on the music alone. Also, the theme of the song is constant and does not change at all.
Acoustic guitar - great finger pic king skills and stayed on tempo the whole time lyrics -a little depressing but not bad I really thought it was sweet, a song I'd sing for my daughter harmoney - I would have liked to hear a girl on the Harmony instead of two guys because it's just such a romantic song. piano-try and add a piano it would add Suttle touched to the song, since it's already a soft song. bridge - try adding different lyrics for the bridge.
The warmth coming from the guitar of this musical artist is apparent at first and it leaves the melodies of his voice open to share his compelling words he sings. His voice is very expressive and gentle. The softer harmonies are what he is about and he won't change too much. I believe this artist is really a genuine artist who has a lot of sensitive romantic structure in his personality. The song seems to have been written perfectly just for him and his loving style of singing chords.
The guitar at the beginning is lovely and the man's voice is absolutely gorgeous, like silk or honey. I love the lyrics, very happy but melancholy at the same time. Very much like the idea of his partner leaving him, and I like how it is very gender neutral (could be saying goodbye to a male or female character). The lines "still love you after all these years" creates a real meaning to the song and makes it easy to relate to for the listener. Not normally my type of music but I really enjoyed this. Great work guys! Loving it.
I really like the guitar and the vocals on this song. It sound western / folk and that is the kind of music that I really like. There is not very much bad with this song, and there is plenty good. The simple tune goes well with the weak bass and the strong vocals. 9/10!
The song starts out with some deep descriptive lyrics by the singer. He sings with a quality voice. The strum of the guitar is kind of quiet in sound and slow in tempo. Yet the guitarist still has a nice quick strum. The singer does a good job of making you feel this song by the good emotion he put's into it. Well done.
The song begins with a guitar and the singer's voice. Making it clear that this song is acoustic, he guitar being used as the background sounds and the singer's voice being the melody. The singer's voice is very high pitched and he is able to utilize it and even sing very low pitched at times. The lyrics are very straightforward and cliche because it is a love song. The singer sings of his beating heart and such using vague over baring and used terms. The song is also very repetitive and stops going through any major changes very soon in.
The introduction is very pleasant with its acoustic guitar picking. The vocals are mellow and romantic with a southern twang. The instrumentation is neither distracting nor bland. The lyrics transport you to a field of flowers while the melodious composition keeps the ear interested. This song lends itself to interesting live performance variations with more diverse and harmonizing background arrangements.
Vocals 9/10 the vocals on this song are unreal! so catchy and a great tune to dance too in the early evening sun chorus 9/10 the chorus is mesmerizing with its highs and lows, get me feeling supper happy and excited for the day.
I love the singers vocals, they are very clear and understandable. His voice sounds super powerful but very gentle to listen too. The singer makes sense what he is singing about with his lyrics. I really want to see the artist make it far in the future with his progress he has made. I would like to rate this song as 10/10.
The music is nice, if a bit repetitive and quiet, the voices sound good and I like the lyrics, but the song doesn't interest me enough to invest in it. So overall I appreciate the song and would happily listen to it on the radio but I wouldn't buy it or put it onto my ipod.

Below is a different version of After All These Years, by Chris Davidson:

Reviews of Chris Davidson's version of After All These Years (overall song: 5.4 out of 10) from the ReverbNation.com Crowd Review service:

Funky song! I very much enjoyed listening to this song. The singer has a very strong and dominant voice which makes the song very catchy and nice to listen to. the lyrics, although a tad different, are very catchy and clear. They make sense which is uncommon in today's music. The tempo of the song is good and the instruments used add a nice mix of layers/textures of tone, pitch and tune. I enjoyed listening and feel like that song would do well with a slightly catchier chorus that people could hum or sing along to easier.
There's a laid back feel to the music here, I could see a group of friends sitting on tattered couches listening to this. The voice is a weird spoken-singing. I think it matches the music but maybe it goes overboard with the granola feel. The chorus is so much more interesting than the verses. Whenever the word "rainbow" is used in a song, I find it hard to view it as heartfelt.
Love the alternative feel to this rock song. It's one of my favorite genres. The instrumental and musical aspects of the instrumental overlay are pretty unique and cool. The vocals sound very indie synthesized and gives it a whole different style to the feel. It would make for a great underground song, but as for radio potential - I don't think it has much depending on where you're located and the musical styles of that area. The song can get a bit repetitive so you may want to add a little spice just so people remember it after hearing for the first time. Good luck.
I think the singer sings to the tune of the song pretty well. The lyrics of the song are really nice. I can't really see this song becoming popular, as it has a bit of an older sound to it. However, the singer has a good voice and I think if he keeps singing more modern sounding songs, he could possibly become a hit.
A bright an powerfully melodic intro. The beat sets right off, a good upbeat tempo. The studio mix is a bit questionable. The vocals sound a bit thin and dry. The guitars sound a bit too far back in the mix, and repetitive. The vocals seem expressionless, and a bit dull, yet warm. Needs to be rerecorded and rewritten some, to reach any commercial potential, at this point there is none.
This song was just OK. I thought the lyrics of the verse were very contrived, not conversational at all and the singer's phrasing was way too straight. It made it easy to predict the rhymes. The chorus was more interesting and was something more memorable for the listener. There was nothing here though, musically or lyrically, to give this song any commercial potential. I also think some more variation with the instruments would make it more fresh-sounding.
The song STARTED out a little slow. however, the lyrics told a story. it was something you could relate to. it wasint too bad. the tempo was slow and that was a drawback. also, i loved how both voices came together in this track. i like to hear the male and then the female. their voices were beautiful, however, the tempo was slow. its not a bad song. it has little potential.This sounded like a gospel/country song for a minute, but after listening for a bit, its really not bad. The girl really brought something to the song for me. I'd listen to this again.
The kind of echoing tone of the song was harsh to my ears for some reason. The singing and the lyrics were good though. There was nothing really wrong with the song, except for the fact that it didn't sound like something that people would want to blast over the car radio unless they were drunk or they already knew all of the words.
The guitar sounds good clean and crisp I think to much treble though. I like the vocals but I do no the way they were edited. It sounds like too awkward of amount reverb. They sound very inconsistent edited too. The drums sound good but they sound the same through the whole thing.
Haha this sounds like some 90s alt rock stuff. intro's on the long side. the lyrics are cool i guess but are you singing or talking? the bridge is nice, i like the bridge a lot, but the chorus sounds indistinguishable from the verses, there needs to be some kind of distinction so we know that it's a chorus, you know? like an emotional climax or a build up of some kind?? something to get us off our seats.
A very soft and delicate acoustic sounds with a driving rhythm opens the piece. It is very emotional piece of art which can give listeners good vibes and amazing chills, This song has very meaningful purpose to the audience, and the audience can be anyone that love this kind of music, I rate this song 8/10 which is very good.
At first i didn't think i would enjoy this, however the composition of of guitar and drums give me a very 80's band and reminded me of some of the bands that made it big from my local are. I really like the key they guitar is in, it works very well against the vocals. This is something that i could imagine myself & friends belting out loud! I also like the drums, against the guitar they are very subtle however noticeable in all the right areas for this type of song. The best thing about this is it doesn't feel forced and that your trying to make it sound like something, witch is how i feel about most music these days. The whole composition of vocals, drums and guitar ect. makes this track enjoyable to listen to.
Nice band, music is pretty much my cure and this song is helping my addiction, lovely sounds to his voice, warming voice he must get loads of girls, if you can play an instrument like this I salute you, take my hat off and give you it plus you would look even more better with my hat on your head and your amazing piece of wooden nature.
I feel like this is a wanna-be indie song. The beat and harmony are kind of clashing. There are random pauses in the music that do not flow. The lyrics are okay. Not the greatest. The beats in the background over power the artist. The background chorus behind his voice do not flow together at all. This could not be a hit. I would not download this on my phone.
I'm not quite so sure yet how i feel about this song. it comes off to me light, and not as intimate, which contradicts the message of the song. it is one of those i have to listen to a few more times to appreciate in its entirety. as is, not much about holds on to me. i think the lyrics has potential but the way it is presented currently sounds like a commercial jingle than a radio music track. regardless, there is potential market of this track. the message is good.
The start of the song doesn't sound like anything i would choose to listen to, its a bit boring and ordinary, and the vocals are plain and it sounds like the artist isn't really bothered or interested in what he is singing about, like he is just going through the motions of the song, apart from the chorus, where it gets more heartfelt. Not going to get far in the charts, or make much of an impact or impression on people.
The introduction was good, I like the walking bass line you have. The lyrics are alright, the rhythm of how you sang was alright, it wasn't the same throughout the entire song. I didn't like the parts of the songs when the instruments just stop playing for a short period of time that wasn't very good. The backup vocals weren't very good. The main vocalist has an alright voice but the backup vocalist doesn't. The song could have been structured better. There was no specific form, you need to divide your lyrics and instrumental sections into a form eg. Intro, verse 1, chorus, verse 2 etc.
The intro to the song was kinda slow and that interesting to listen to. I felt like the the singer was boring to listen to, I didn't really have fun doing it. I also noticed that the songs sound quality was at it's worst, which is what you never want you hear in a song.
Song melody at start begins like friends theme song or Breakfast Clubs ending credits song. Sound playful and child like. Meant for preschoolers to listen to or play drums to. Even sing along to. Song seems to be trying a adult vibe not getting kind of cheesy if you ask me try try again.
A very strong and pwerful start to the song which instantly makes the audience hesitant to the vocals, what i believe are very poor, and not very constructive towards the type of music. the tone of the music in the background are too much of a high quality compared to the tones in the vocal chords. the music/vocal balance is very good, but the vocals need more tweeking with more high and low pitches to them, they are lacking in emotion and seem rather boring and dull.

Below is another version of After All These Years, by Elliott Sheridan:

Reviews of Elliott Sheridan's version of After All These Years (overall song: 7.2 out of 10) from the ReverbNation.com Crowd Review service:

Again, the singer is the weakest point of the song. He sounds a bit flat, doesn't even sound like he's interested in what he's singing at all. Very monotone. The melody is okay, just a normal sounding melody that anyone else could make.
An upbeat and focused country feel in the opening that serves as a good intro for a vocalist who has a lot of talent and passion in their lyrics and the tone they bring to the track.
Cool countryrock song that is filled with storytelling. I think the singing rolls over with the drumming under. Nice lyricism and writing is what I like sometimes.
Good song with a nice radio feel it really is upbeat and fun, kind of reminds me of bob Dylan, the vocals are very interesting for sure.
I like how positive this song was. The song was clear and in tune. The guitar sounds great and this song was entertaining to me.
I like the lyrics of the song and how well the fit with the music. The vocals are okay and blend with the rhythm and beat of the music.
I really like this song. I like the melody and the vocals remind me of Wilco. The instrumentation works with the vocals too.
I really liked the vocals in this song. I thought they were very well done. I think the lead singer has a very smooth voice that was also clear and concise. Great work.
I thought the lyrics were poetic and powerful. It reminds me of songs from the 60s and 70s. I also liked the music. It was gentle and lovely.
Loved the start of the sound. Good mix and beat. The vocals were a little dry, but not bad. Nice tempo and energetic song.
Lyrics are easy to understand even if they are a bit country. Instrumental accompaniment is pleasing and not too loud. Good steady beat. Overall not a bad song.
Not bad, not bad at all. The vocals are good and the lyrics sound well thought out. The instrumentation is pretty well developed and the porductio has no flaws that I could hear.
The intro was terrific but then the tune went downhill. The voice was good, the beat was terrific, but overall the song grated on my nerves.
The song had a great pace to it. It was very meaningful and relaxing. It was really easy to listen to as well. I would not mind hearing more. Thank you.
he vocals are my favorite part. They gel so well with both the music and lyrics. The vocals sound so intimate, which is perfect for a song with these lyrics.
This guy sounds a lot like Eric Clapton. I bet my dad would really like this song. I unfortunately do not care for it as much as someone else may.
This song is very upbeat and makes me feel happy as soon as I hear it! I would love to listen to more from this artist. His voice makes me feel relaxed and positive about life.
This song made me miss the old way they used to make this genre before mainstream took it over. It was very refreshing to hear in my opinion.
This would be a lot better if it didn't have such an unplugged vibe to it. The vocals sounded a little rough as well in most places here.