- original music and arrangements -
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Fate or Faith

What you take… is it what you’re giving?

As the years drift on by we wonder...
Did it all have to be this way?
Did every step that we took...
Each chance we had to make...
Give us this moment in time today?

Is it the finger of fate we’re under?
Or are all the chances we take still free?
Can we set our own course
Find strength in what we do...
Or is it just our destiny?

Fate or Faith -- The choice you make in living
Fate or Faith -- What you take is what you’re giving

Looking back at the times we’ve struggled
We took a turn for the worse it seemed
Should we have blamed it on luck
Our fortunes gone astray?
Keeping us from all we’ve dreamed?

Or was it really a test... a detour
To lead us onto something new?
Every setback could be just
an opportunity
To find the truth in what we do...

Questions intertwined
Answers hard to find
Wisdom gained through years
Full of smiles and tears

Fate or Faith -- The choice you make in living
(Look around and see… What do you believe?)
Fate or Faith -- What you take, is it what you’re giving?
(What you can't erase... You must turn and face…?)

Music, Lyrics, Vocals: Rich Coffey
Recorded at Mistura Productions
(2005, re-recorded and posted 2009, re-arranged/re-recorded and reposted again in 2017)


Lyrics:
Very much a philosophical/spirituality-oriented tune, this song asks the eternal question: "Do you believe your life is merely bound by fate or do you constantly play a determined and active role in your own evolution and outcome?" It also subtly implies "Does karma play an integral part in defining your life’s journey?" (i.e., do unto others as they would do unto you...) No definitive answer is given of course. "Fate or Faith?" I think it's a very powerful phrase that makes everyone take a moment to reflect on their own inner beliefs...

Music Details:
A bossa-nova / latin feel with a lot of rich maj9 chordal flavor. The Chorus has an unusual harmonic twist - the opening Fsus2/ Eb5. It's an unexpected yet cool resolution from the previous Emaj9 chord at the end of the verse. Note: The bass plays in 5ths for the B section - see transcription snippet - string trio highlighted. (link opens in new window/tab).

2017 Update

I have rearranged the B section (finally!). In the previous version, the B section was too busy and bombastic. My new arrangement has a string quartet / acoustic guitar kinda feel for that section and the song fades out with a synth solo behind the tag. :-)

Piano Demo
Watch/Listen - A short YouTube video where I am playing this song on the piano.