“Leaving Millie” is an interesting addition to the theme of Kroc’s life (my source material for this “Kroc’s Symphony” experiment; see also Retribution ^[1] and The Journey ^[2]).  In spring 2005, Kroc shared with me a series of remarkable stories.  One of the recurring characters in these stories was a girl named “Millie,” and she is the inspiration for this song.

My hope for this was to accomplish several things.  I wanted a piece that sounded pretty and pleasant (not dark or dreary), but I didn’t want to go so far as “happy,” per se.  I wanted it to be the kind of song you could contemplate to.  I also wanted it to start simple, then gradually progress into a more complex ending that stayed true to the simpleness of the melody.  It’s designed to be a sort of musical conundrum.  :)  I’m rather fond of it.

Again, thanks go out to Kroc for all he’s done to help me out.  This song, as well as The Journey ^[2] and Retribution ^[1], are my small way of saying thanks.

By request, the mp3 version of this song includes a “live piano” track.  This version of the piano part was recorded as MIDI through my keyboard and recreated via soundfont – so it’s not entirely “live”, but the notes are an exact replica of me at my keyboard.  In my opinion, this version has more grandeur than the all-electronic version, and although some dissonant notes appear toward the end (oops!), I find this to be a nice improvement on an already excellent song.