My friend Oliver Freiberg died on August 25th last year. I wanted to write something about it at the time, but every time I sat down to put pen to paper, I was struck by the horrible fear that nothing I said could do him justice. Turns out my friend Calder, a fantastic writer, could actually do him justice with words. Here’s the piece that Calder wrote back in September.
Oliver and I met in kindergarten, and for the next 24 years he was a staple figure in my life. He was a funny, ridiculous guy, steadfast and adamant about the things (big or small) that he chose to take a stand on.
On Friday, our high school hosted a dinner event in honor of Oliver, and his mom asked me to play a song. Of course, “One More Night (With My Friends in the City)” first came to mind, as it has become a sad but ultimately uplifting reminder to cherish nights with the boys, but I knew I wanted to give Freiberg something more personal.
I worked on this song for a while, and tried at least five different ideas before I settled on one. I couldn’t seem to capture what I wanted to say. Too many memories kept flitting through my head: drinking soda at 2am on a sleepover just so we could play more video games, him insisting his skinny jeans would fit over his long underwear at The Mountain School, or the last time I saw him – at a show I played in Brooklyn in July. He loved coming out to my shows.
It’s through those memories that I wrote this song, which I am tentatively naming “That’s How I Will Think of You (For Oliver)” (I do love my long ass song titles). He’ll never be just one moment or just one superlative. He’s the culmination of all the time we, and everyone else in his life, spent with him.
I miss you dude, and hopefully you can hear this song from wherever you are.
love,
teaky
LYRICS:
Share this post