Bloom
Where You're Planted
“My Father’s wish will be granted”
Originally released in 2001 on the “Boom Where You’re Planted album.
Song Lyric
I’ve heard it said
When I was young he held me well
And I can’t pretend to remember him myself
But in the story Grandma tells
When other men were angry
And withered in the sand
My Daddy never raved and never ranted
He just bloomed where he was planted
The story grows
How my Mom became his bride
She loved him most like the ocean where I
First became a twinkle in their eyes
When lovers were losing
Their diamonds and hearts
They held the cards they’d been handed
And they bloomed where they were planted
They bloomed where they were planted
Right now I’m all wrapped up
In one small patch of earth and sky
And it’s not the one I hoped for
But the sun and the soil can teach me why
If I don’t take them for granted
And I bloom where I’ve been planted
This thing he said
So long ago that I have just now heard
Tonight by this bed I say a prayer
So that the world may hear his words
And my father’s wish will be granted
My Father’s wish will be granted
When we bloom where we’ve been planted
When we bloom where we’ve been planted
© DNR Records / Tom Acousti 1998 “all rights reserved”
Title track of the album,
Bloom Where You’re Planted,
everything is everything
volume I
The title track
of the album,
Bloom Where You’re Planted, everything is everything
volume 1
The title track of the album, Bloom Where You’re Planted, everything is everything volume 1
About the Song
The song, Bloom Where You’re Planted, was written for, and shared at, the memorial service of Army Sgt. Kenneth R. Hobson II who, while serving his country, was killed by the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya on August, 7th, 1998. A call came to me from Ken’s widow, Debbie, three days after that terrible event took his life along with hundreds of others – a number of Americans along with many, many Kenyans .
I didn’t know Debbie or Ken but, as she explained, some of my music had been special to their union. She told me about her life with Ken, the commitment they made, the family they began, and the dogs that had been left behind in the hurried return to the U.S. Mostly, she told me about how Ken lived his life.
Her story coming over the wires that night became this song – a gift to surviving daughter, Megan Hobson, who was then two years old. The day before the memorial service, it was confirmed that Megan would not remain the only child. Abbie Hobson was born on April 10th, 1999. We hope that Bloom, written as a gift for one family, might be healing or helpful for others caught in the depths of a grieving beyond words.
About the Recording
Bloom Where You’re planted is the title track of an album recorded during the Nashville years. All recording and even mixing, was done on a Roland VS 1680 workstation. That portable rig made it easier to record friends like Lance Hoppen (Orleans), Gene Libbea (Nashville Bluegrass Band), Kevin Teel, Pete Vitalone, and others.
Track from those players would eventually result in a full sound, but the first things recorded were just two guitars (Teel and I) playing together with a live vocal. That live performance was kept as the foundation to be built up from there.
When nearly finished, we broke up the “final” mixes into stems and took those into the world famous Sound Emporium Studios to treat the vocals and finish the balances in a proper room. Lastly, it was rolled to 1/2 ” tape @ 30 IPS and then mastered with Eric Conn.
