Songfacts®:

• In our interview, Klose revealed that he almost always writes his songs by starting with a melody, then adding in lyrics once a it begins to musically take form. "The Beginning," however, originally started as a poem. In a noticeable departure from his more-straightforward lyrical style, the song adopts more sweeping and suggestive imagery. (Here's the full interview with Jann Klose.)
• The song is both ambiguous and evocative, conjuring scenes of departure, moving on, and a bittersweet sense of nostalgia. In keeping with it's title, it's about beginnings - but also about endings, and how close the line between the two can blur.
• It's the final track on his 2007 album, Reverie. The album was entirely funded by community support. It deals with the personal experiences in Klose's life - he explained in our interview that songwriting for him is a way of understanding his own life better.
• The closing instrumental section of the song was always improvised live. Over the years, a more consistent form began to take place. The version that appears on the album was one of several live, on-the-spot takes.