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photograph credit to dylan sherwood mcconnell (x)
usually artists refrain from putting out there what their song is blatantly about, but for this song i feel i have to give you an explanation. it is written about elliott smith, and i could have only written it after reading his biography titled "torment saint", a book every young aspiring musician should read, as well as the experienced, already in the boxing ring musicians. i became intimately close with elliott whenever i would listen to his albums XO, Either/Or, the self titled "Elliott Smith", and Figure 8. songs like roman candle, the infamous waltz no. 2 (XO), needle in the hay, pitseleh, ballad of big nothing, say yes, somebody that i used to know, twilight, are all fantasically human songs and even illustrations, for they pant a picture in your mind drawn by elliott's genius. he left songs behind that tell stories in haunting stop motion on your grandmother's projector, of days in portland streets in the late eighties, nights alone in a junk bond room with perfect company, and days of youth in texas in the seventies. and this song, "<3", simply describes our simpatico found almost a decade after his death, how his pain crumbled his life, and how simply, he will always be elliott smith: less than three, a black little heart, "if i wasn't such a zero, i wouldn't be a hero"; good to go. this is a song i hope he would enjoy if he were here to listen to me play it for him. enjoy
lyrics
we both found solace in music
the love we share cannot be made
for you are dead, but your heart is still with me.
when i cannot sleep
my tired eyes see everything
and i pray to be released
and wake in the morning
he was a torment saint, once a good boy
but his pain grew over his rosebuds
and the snow froze his furnace
all pain comes with genius
and vise versa
he left his mark, twisted but
maybe if he had learned to love himself
then things wouldn't have gone so wrong.
voices in the night, my dreams or my illusion
they are my fear and my weakness
where i wonder where a lover would ever lie next to me
he was damaged at best, painfully aware
that he was fighting his demons, all the time
he was a torment saint, once a good boy
but his pain grew over his rosebuds
and the snow froze his furnace
all pain comes with genius
and vise versa
he left his mark, twisted but
maybe if he had learned to love himself
then things wouldn't have gone so wrong
trampled by lion's paws and facing death
with my own eyes, i made it through
and walked on the dirt path to the top of the hill
looked the sun in the eyes
my heart felt the wind
and i realize i am still human
and he will always be him
Wendy blows my mind. The introduction is swell, and it brings you on a journey where all the bad thoughts leave your head. "Ball Lightning" catches you in its palm, and brings you to Brooklyn. Hadley
The latest from Grails is full of woozy, expansive music that draws on a host of sources to create immersive compositions. Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 5, 2016
