This is the first complete draft of this song from Prodigal. The first verse and pre-chorus on this song were some of the first pieces written for Prodigal back around 2015, but the second verse, choruses and overall structure weren’t put together until just recently.

In the story, this character, Diggory, has grown up on his family’s four-generation farm and he’s dying to cut some new ruts and finally get away from the farm life and the family realities he associates with it and go seek fame and fortune in the big city.

Joe Sharick, accompanist

THE BEST OF ME

I’ve got a tingle in my fingers
Got a tickle in my brain
Got a longing and a burning
Like a hunger keeps returning
Like a harvest that’s yearning for rain

Cause there’s a better life that’s waiting
There’s a fortune I must find
I can’t be the man I was made to be
Until I leave this one behind

And though some think it’s unfounded
I want so much more than corn can buy
Like an eagle that’s been grounded
This I know - I was born to fly

Someday I’ll see
A city skyline through the clouds
Someday I’ll be
A man who stands out from the crowds
Just wait, you’ll see
No matter what it takes
Someday I’ll finally pull up stakes
And show the world the best of me

I’ve got a million dreams I’m chasing
Got a thousand schemes or more
Time to write a different story
Time to rise to heights of glory
Time to find out what lies in store

I’m trading lantern light for streetlights
Trading fields for cobblestone
I’ll forget what my family expects of me
And finally make my life my own

Call me young, naive, or crazy
I know my heart no matter what you say
The choice is mine so don’t delay me
Get on board or get out of my way!

At last it’s clear
What’s right for me is for me to say
Someday is here
A brand new life begins today

Make way for me,
A bright new star flung into space!
Let me be free
To find my rightful time and place
My destiny won’t wait forever
So it’s time to take my chance to go and be
And give the world the best of me.