Changes – and one voice is missing

I hear “Changes” – the version by Ozzy Osbourne and his daughter Kelly.

Not the original by Black Sabbath, but the version sung by father and daughter together.

Two generations, united in a song about farewell and change.

And I – as a mother – hear something else: us.

And suddenly I'm no longer here.

I'm in South Korea, in the year 2022.

Leon and I – in one of those karaoke bars.

We laugh, we sing.

Our voices overlap,

off-key, loud, free.

We are connected – in music, in moments, in complete closeness.

Back then, I never thought that I would one day have to consider this moment as something that was over.

I never thought that one day I would hear this song

and be alone.

It took so long to realize / That I can still hear his last goodbyes

I can still hear his voice.

Sometimes in a song.

Sometimes in my head.

Sometimes in a dream.

The last, unspoken goodbyes.

Not as words.

But in certain moments.

In songs.

In the light of a quiet afternoon.

Or in the middle of the night, when I wake up and suddenly feel it again:

He is missing.

And yet something of him is still there.

And sometimes very quietly—in the memory of him laughing, dancing, and how we sang and danced to K-pop together in clubs as if there were no tomorrow.

Back then, I didn't know that for one of us, tomorrow would be the end.

Ozzy and Kelly's version is actually a duet –

two voices holding each other.

What remains when only one voice sings?

I believe:

What remains is love that does not fall silent.

The memories that shine, even if they hurt.

And the promise that I will continue to sing—

for him, too.

The thought of how the song might sound from our perspective. How would it sound if we were standing there? The lyrics would hardly change.

I feel unhappy, I am so sad

I've lost the best friend that I ever had

She is my baby, I love her so 👉He is my baby, I love him so

But it's too late now, I've let her go 👉But it's too late, now, I've let him go

We're going through changes

We're going through changes

We shared the years, we shared each day

I love you, daddy, but I've found my way 👉I love you, mommy, but I've found my way

You know, the world is an evil place

My baby's grown now, she's found her way 👉My baby's grown now, he's found his way

We're going through changes

We're going through changes

It took so long to realize

And I can still hear his last goodbye (Last goodbye)

Now, all my days are filled with fears

Wish I could go back (Go back) and change the years (Change the years)

We're going through changes (Changes)

We're going through changes (Changes)

We're going through changes

Changes

Changes

Changes

Now, all my days are filled with fears / wish I could go back and change the years

There are days when the pain isn't loud.

It doesn't scream. It doesn't demand anything.

But it's there—

like a veil over everything, like a melody that repeats itself over and over,

quietly but incessantly.

I wish I could turn back time.

Return once more,

hear our voices once more –

not perfect, but full of life.

Stand once more in a crowded karaoke bar and forget

that the world outside keeps turning.

But time cannot be negotiated.

And so all that remains is the present –

a present full of tears on some days,

full of smiles on others.

And always with a quiet “what if...” in the background.

Changes isn't just a song

It's a reminder that nothing lasts –

except the feeling that was real.