Watching The World Go By [Glen Burtnik]

Watching The World Go By
Written by Glen Burtnik and Bob Burger
Lead Vocals by Glen Burtnik

I wipe the dreams from my eyes, face the morning outside
And I wake up watching the world go by
I see the sun & the rain from my seat on the train
Thru the window
Watching the world go by
And I look on at the day unfolding
And the traffic going nowhere
Gazing out on the street and the faces I meet everyday
Watching the world go by

There are those who don't stop for the hands on the clock
They don't see the way that time can fly
Always running behind with so much on their minds
As for me, I'm watching the world go by
And thru it all with the hours passing,
Everybody rushing somewhere
They're all moving so fast, trying hard to get past
As I stand watching the world go by

And in the end when the day is over
When I ask myself just where the world is going
And what's been lost what's been gained
Have our lives really changed
Then I laugh, but sometimes I wanna cry
Watching the world go by

Interpretation

Riding the train into the city, I see the beauty of nature and the commuters in a rush to get where they are going, missing it all.

In response to a question from a fan on the now-defunct Burtnikville website, Glen had the following to say about this song:

The inspiration for "Watching the World Go By" was a few things. First, there’s a train I take from New Brunswick, NJ, where I live, to New York City. I love riding trains. It’s very conducive to self reflection and there’s a dreaminess to the constant rhythmic rumble and passing scenery. Second, there's a beautiful recording by Paul Stookey called the "Wedding Song". This was a hit record, and when you listen to it there’s just ONE GUY singing & playing on it. The song is so powerful that he didn't need more than one voice and one acoustic guitar to have a big hit record with it. I wanted a song like that, one I could play whenever someone asked me to pick up a guitar, one which would hold up without feeling I was missing this background vocal part or that keyboard solo...

Lastly, an early hero of mine was Pete Seeger. He wrote alotta simple but timeless songs like "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" and "Turn Turn Turn". His songs are like prototypes for the classic 60’s folk and folk-rock type standards. I have always dreamed of someday coming close to that ilk of songwriting.

My wife Rosie liked the melody I had and mentioned it reminded her of the 60s. That did it for me. I felt like this ‘watching the world go by’ idea was my chance to try writing that kind of song. I called on my incredibly talented songwriting collaborator Bob Burger to help me with my goal. As always, he nailed what I was going for.

It came out pretty good. Production-wise I took it a little further than my initial idea of it being sparse, but I’m pleased. I really love Jimmy Leahey’s solo guitar work and Mindy Jostyn’s harmony singing.