083: hemlock - Lake Martin
"It feels like magic to slow down, cuz it is magic to slow down," sings Carolina Chauffe, halfway through the latest song from the forthcoming hemlock LP 444.
And though the lyrics to 'Lake Martin' are wonderful enough to share the whole stream of them below, it's those two short lines that are act as a perfect summation of both the new song and the gentle tenderness inherent within Chauffe's songwriting.
Understated and patient, sparkling with little ripples of otherness that deviate it away from standard singer-songwriter fare, the track is one of twelve that feature on the new album, all of them hand-picked from a huge catalogue of songs that Chauffe wrote and recorded on their phone as part of their song-a-day-for-a-month project over the past five years.
Reimagined and then breathed fresh life into as a full-band version, the album is a curious conjuring but also one that softens the signature context of it all to simply present a couple handful of tracks that will linger like sunlight and change the shape of your day.
A gem among gems, 'Lake Martin' acts both as an introduction to the full, self-released album – arriving October 1st – or just a reminder of the magic that can be mined from somewhere deep within hearts and minds and fingertips.
And it feels like magic, because it is magic.
hey skim the surface of the water
leaps of faith, dives of hunger
what a wonder to be sobered,
fully dumbstruck by the beauty of it all
and the scene unfolds in chapters,
bursts of life, the gentle rapture
of the setting sun, bowing
in reverence of surrounding
cypress trees, spanish moss,
of swampy water, heron call
the sky is bleeding every color
her heart wide open, air and water
pulse with breath, the stillness bustling
all changing surely, all moving subtly
all of a sudden, overcoming -
awed and humbled by the beauty of it all
now the waxing moon’s concerto
dragonflies buzz in crescendo
dancing, dining on mosquitos
as the ‘squitos dine on me
cuz everybody’s someone’s dinner here
the show isn’t for free,
I pay my due, I tip my server,
generosity reciprocal
and while it’s true, against his wish
the fisherman ain’t catch no fish
but he caught a beautiful sunset
and he shared it all with me
and we were full
and we were nourished
and we were spoon-fed til we were sated
by the beauty of it all
it feels like magic to slow down
cuz it is magic to slow down
to feel it all move all around me
to feel it all pass all right through me
to know the land that I am from
we meet each other where we are
to be cradled by her power
to sit here with her for hours
what a gift! what a mother!
what a home and what a lover
what a wonder to be welcomed -
full belonging to the beauty of it all
~
three / six / five is a daily music-sharing project from gold flake paint; read more about the idea here
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