This is an old song that I was never quite happy with, so I went back and worked on it again, changing the chords in the chorus. I also added a spoken verse and would appreciate some feedback on that. Is it just too schmaltzy, obnoxiously sentimental? Should I just leave it out and go straight to the third verse at the end of the fiddle solo?

LISTEN AT SOUNDCLOUD


OVERFLOWING
(Words & Music by Gavin Sinclair)

Many the night that we have sat around this table
The tales we’d tell and the jokes that we would crack.
I’d put my arm around you now if only I were able
If only I could have you back.

We’ll save a place for you, my friend
Whom we’re so proud of knowing
And though the chair be empty now
Our hearts are overflowing.

Many the glass that we have raised to one another
Laughing eyes across the foam
This was a party that we thought would last forever
I cried when you went home

We’ll raise a glass to you, my friend
It is our way of showing
That though the glass be empty now
Our hearts are overflowing.

So here we are, full glasses and hearts overflowing with memories.
And we sing of good times that won't come again.
Sometimes, when someone makes a joke, I forget and look around, try to catch your eye and I feel a tear in my own.
So what can we do, but raise our glasses to an empty chair and say we still love you and miss you?

This old room still may ring with our laughter
At the memories that you left behind
But in our hearts there’s a before and there’s an after
A clock we can’t rewind

We’ll tell our tales of you, my friend
Until it’s time for going
For laughter’s never empty when
Hearts are overflowing