The Echoing Green: Sanctuary

The Echoing Green are banging away on a new album, slowly releasing new tracks to Myspace and occasionally pushing out production videos on their podcast feed.

The latest is Sanctuary and, I must say, it does an excellent job building their “darkwave” sound. Here are the lyrics, as posted on their Myspace.

Take naivete from me and leave me isolated
all at once I feel so free, yet so captivated
you make the endless waves of time -
seem so temporary.
you’re my missionary, emissary… Adversary!

You define the line between human and divine
in this empty place intrinsic grace, so necessary.
See the skies divide.. when hope and fear collide
from this cemetery, offer me this sanctuary.

There is violence when you move
yet I’m stationary
devastate all my design and make it arbitrary
you break my legs yet leave my knees…
my will penetrated.
I’m eviscerated…
consecrated…
Lacerated!

This heart, you break it and make it sacred
these eyes awaken, this breath is taken from you

You define the line between human and divine….

The Echoing Green released their first serious “darkwave” work on The Winter of Our Discontent with Blind and Fall Awake. As a style, I think that darkwave can be best defined as the dark, harsh, even bitter side of New Wave with modern production values. This description applies to both the sound and the lyrics. Now, that is not to say that Echoing Green is going all depressed or hatefull. Indeed not! The style is, rather, to dive into the darkest pits of despair and grab onto the faintest ray of hope, then wrench and tear your way upwards until the darkness is evicerated. The sound is dark, certainly. The lyrics can even feel dark at times. But the point is that, if you actually listen, both the music and the lyrics truly focus on hope.

Which, I believe, is the essential message.

-otto

Lift Me Up

All things hold in themselves both intentional and subjective meanings.
-

Ever since I first heard Moby’s Hotel album a couple years ago (has it seriously been that long!) one of my favorite songs has been Lift Me Up. Of course, this being a Moby song, the meaning of the song has always been rather vague to me. But it was fun! This weekend I finally took a few minutes to figure out the lyrics and the story behind the song. Taken from my own listening and readings on several websites, I present to you the full lyrics:

Plain talking (plain talking)
Will take us so far (take us so far)
In broken down cars (broken down cars)
Like strung out old stars (strung out old stars)

Plain talking (plain talking)
Served us so well (served us so well)
We traveled through hell (traveled through hell)
And oh how we fell (oh how we fell)

Lift me up!
Lift me up!
Higher now Ama!
(4x)

Plain talking (plain talking)
Is making us bold (making us bold)
So strung out and cold (strung out and cold)
I’m feeling so old(feeling so old)

Plain talking (plain talking)
Has ruined us now (has ruined us now)
Never know how (never know how)
Sweeter than thou (sweeter than thou)

Lift me up!
Lift me up!
Higher now Ama!
(4x)

(Various background vocalizations)

Lift me up!
Lift me up!
Oh la la lala!

And for your audio/visual enjoyment of this truly energetic song:

Now, that last bit of the chorus “higher now ama” confused me for years. For a while I figured that it might be “higher now onward” but that didn’t seem quite right. After a lot of digging I found a lengthy and meandering discussion of the song that included a link to Moby’s post on the topic.

It would seem that the whole song is supposed to be about politics and religion.

Now, I had taken it as being about a relationship that fell apart after someone said too much. Or someone feeling sad about honesty backfiring… but then all of the troubles being left behind in the exultation of some good music.

Now it seems that the song was written with the intention of discussing politicians who “talk plain” to get people to support them. Then there is that interesting little neologism: Ama.

I would refer you back to his post, but in summary: “Ama” is a drastically over-thought word that Moby invented for the song to refer to God in an obscure manner.

Hmmm.

Well, be it about politicians or friends or life in general, I still like the song.

-Otto

One Hen

After singing the regular version of the hen list song for several years, a new staff member introduced me to a different version. From what I have read on the net, this one appears to have originated with a Jerry Lewis sketch.

Step 1) Speak each verse in turn, encouraging the audience to repeat it back to you before moving on to the next.
Step 2) Enjoy their looks of amused confusion as they stumble through the later verses and finally give up on verse ten.

1. One hen.
2. One hen; two ducks.
3. One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese.
4. One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters.
5. One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters; five corpulent porpoises.
6. One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters; five corpulent porpoises; six pairs of Don Alversos tweezers.
7. One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters; five corpulent porpoises; six pairs of Don Alversos tweezers; 7,000 Macedonians in full battle array.
8. One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters; five corpulent porpoises; six pairs of Don Alversos tweezers; 7,000 Macedonians in full battle array; eight brass monkeys from the ancient sacred crypts of Egypt.
9. One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters; five corpulent porpoises; six pairs of Don Alversos tweezers; 7,000 Macedonians in full battle array; eight brass monkeys from the ancient sacred crypts of Egypt; nine apathetic, sympathetic, diabetic old men on roller skates with a marked propensity toward procrastination and sloth.
10. One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters; five corpulent porpoises; six pairs of Don Alversos tweezers; 7,000 Macedonians in full battle array; eight brass monkeys from the ancient sacred crypts of Egypt; nine apathetic, sympathetic, diabetic old men on roller skates with a marked propensity toward procrastination and sloth; 10 lyrical, spherical, diabolical denizens of the deep who hall stall around the corner of the quo of the quay of the quivery, all at the same time!

A Big Fat Hen!

Each verse consists of saying something new and then reciting the entire list backwards to the start. You should introduce this as “a repeat after me song” and encourage the audience to shout back each verse before moving on to the next. Not only is this fun and interactive, but it gets to be simply hilarious as they attempt to repeat verses 8-10.

1. A big fat hen!
2. A couple of ducks and a big fat hen.
3. Three running hares, a couple of ducks, and a big fat hen.
4. Four brown bears, three running hares, a couple of ducks, and a big fat hen.
5. Five flat flap-jacks, four brown bears, three running hares, a couple of ducks, and a big fat hen.
6. Six simple simons, five flat flap-jacks, four brown bears, three running hares, a couple of ducks, and a big fat hen.
7. Seven silly sailors sailing the seven seas, six simple simons, five flat flap-jacks, four brown bears, three running hares, a couple of ducks, and a big fat hen.
8. Now here’s where it gets a little difficult: Eight egotistical elephants eagerly awaiting entrance into Ethiopia, seven silly sailors sailing the seven seas, six simple simons, five flat flap-jacks, four brown bears, three running hares, a couple of ducks, and a big fat hen.
9. Nine nimble ninnies nibbling ninny gnats, eight egotistical elephants eagerly awaiting entrance into Ethiopia, seven silly sailors sailing the seven seas, six simple simons, five flat flap-jacks, four brown bears, three running hares, a couple of ducks, and a big fat hen.
10. And last but not least: Ten tiny tom-toms tinkling tiny tunes, nine nimble ninnies nibbling ninny gnats, eight egotistical elephants eagerly awaiting entrance into Ethiopia, seven silly sailors sailing the seven seas, six simple simons, five flat flap-jacks, four brown bears, three running hares, a couple of ducks, and a big fat hen.

Notes:
There are several versions of verse 9. If you know a better one (one that makes more sense), let me know.
Be enthusiastic! Enunciate! And speak quickly, especially on verse 8.

Happy Sadness

Ah, nothing like a little upbeat sad music

Just listening to some Erasure and decided to look up the lyrics to Phantom Bride.

She was a shy girl from a lonely street
She had no job to do and no friends to meet
She´d sit in silence in her rented room
Dream of her childhood and invented truths

And in her mind she´d drift away
A secret place to steal away

Don´t you cry, don´t you cry
Let me wipe away the tears from your eyes
Don´t you cry, don´t you cry
Let me wipe away the tears from your eyes

He was a good boy from the outside of town
Said he could treat her right
said he could win her round
Her morning sickness and the kick inside
The phantom kisses of the phantom bride

And in her mind she´d drift away
A secret place to steal away

Don´t you cry, don´t you cry
Let me wipe away the tears from your eyes
Don´t you cry, don´t you cry
Let me wipe away the tears from your eyes

And in her mind she´d drift away
A secret place to steal away
Don´t you cry, don´t you cry
Let me wipe away the tears from your eye
Don´t you cry, don´t you cry
Let me wipe away the tears no more
No more lies
Don´t you cry, don´t you cry
Let me wipe away the tears from your eyes
Don´t you cry, don´t you cry
Let me wipe away the tears
Let me wipe away the tears

OK, so the chorus of the song is a bit happy, talking about not lying or crying any longer. But the verses are quite sad. And the whole thing is sung in such an upbeat tempo and voice.

Perhaps I should counteract all of this with some depressing(depressing sounding) Depeche Mode or hopeful(depressing sounding) Echoing Green.

Or maybe just put it all on random…

-Otto