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Lyric video by The Haunted North performing Without a Dawn. © 2018 Vocals & lyrics: Randy V Guitars & music: Sean Francis Bass Guitar: John “JD“ DeServio Drums: Jeff Fabb Principle photography: Rodney Harvey - Band photo: Jennifer Diehl - Available on iTunes: Spotify: Amazon: WEBSITE: INSTAGRAM: FACEBOOK: SONG FACTS (from Randy): I was driving across the State of Washington in the Spring of 2017 and decided to call a dear friend in Florida to firm up my plans for the summer. We hadn’t seen each other in over 30 years. She was my middle school love – my first love. It didn’t pan for us and was probably just as well. We were both incredibly willful and stubborn, and in our youth, we were totally out of control, just wild. Any serious relationship between the two of us back then would have been a disaster. In retrospect, growing up in Burlington, Iowa, in the appalling conditions of my home, her asking me to stay would have given me two years at best. Death was coming, and I didn’t want to be around when it came knocking. We had our moment a few years later, which was grand, but we were on separate paths and knew it wasn’t meant to be. Throughout the years, we remained close friends but have never had the opportunity to see each other again. She got married and had kids. I was married and divorced twice with a beautiful daughter. We stayed in touch. In December of 2016, I made plans for an epic 5,000-mile journey on my Indian Chief. When I travel like this, I usually hit the town we grew up in. My parents are buried there, and I have another childhood friend there. Her parents still lived in Burlington, and we discovered that we would simultaneously be in our old hometown. I was excited to see her after all these years. We made plans to have lunch – nothing naughty, just two old friends getting together over lunch and reminiscing about our wild pasts. So, back to my drive. I had pulled off at a rest area on my way to Spokane. I will never forget this. I picked up my phone, brought up her number to call, and realized she was no longer there. She passed away back in February 2017 at her Florida home. I was just sitting there frozen, holding my phone. I had already grieved, yet I was still making the big trip, right in the middle of writing sessions with Sean for the debut Haunted North album, and had forgotten entirely. A close friend told me that she was buried in a cemetery very close to where she grew up, very close to the school where we met. The first line of the song was born at that moment. By the time I got to Spokane, the lyrics were done. Sean did a fantastic job composing the perfect music, and I even had a hand in the chorus melody. All of it came straight from the heart. It was released today in honor of Sean's best friend, Mike Jody Shaw, and all the heartbreaking losses over the last 18 months, including my mother. Licensed to YouTube by: White Choker Publishing (ASCAP/SOCAN).
