Debut release by Omaha songwriter Ben Eisenberger

***
In October 2016 my friend Harry Dang took me to an area on the back of his motorbike called Tam Đảo, or “three islands”. Along the ride I got a few melodies stuck in my head that went on to become parts of several songs on this release.
***

Ben Eisenberger, guitar/vocals 
Hannah Mayer, cello 

recorded by Adam Roberts 
mixed/mastered by Ben Brodin 

cover photo by Tâm “Terry” Trần

The Best

Rose Run
** inspired by a ghost story recorded in Ruth Ann Musick's 
Green Hills of Magic: West Virginia Folktales from Europe **

Rose Run, it’s far back on Bunner’s Ridge, 
close to Morgantown 
It was and still is 
the place that she comes from 

A farmer’s daughter fell in love 
With a farmer’s son 
It started easy, and for a time 
It fooled everyone 

How she loved that man, 
he was her everything
And he loved her too, 
Every night they’d sit by the fire and sing 

It was bliss, as long 
As he was out having fun 
She’d do the chores, 
stay at home til the work was done 

It’s hard to say when the changes came
Maybe it was sudden, maybe slow and with pain 

Soon, their shutters stayed drawn
And long sleeves hid her bruised-up skin 
Her eyes lost their sparkle 
And her laughter, it was blown away with the wind

Rose run, far away from here 
Rose run, you should not stay
Rose run, far away from here 
Rose run, but please don’t stay

Wild roses in the valley 
They covered everything, 
Like wildfire, they choked 
the very sunlight from the soil 

Morning hit, 
and as he started drinkin’
she quietly packed her bags, 
and rose she ran

Rose run, far away from here 
Rose run, you should not stay
Rose run, far away from here 
Rose run, but please don’t stay

Rose Run

an attempt at doing many new things at once  
playing guitar & translating a beautiful poem by Rainer Maria Rilke

*Ich bin auf der Welt zu allein*

Ich bin auf der Welt zu allein und doch nicht allein genug,
um jede Studen zu weihen.
Ich bin auf der Welt zu gering und doch nicht klein genug,
um vor dir zu sein wie ein Ding,
dunkel und klug.
Ich will meinen Willen und will meinen Willen begleiten
die Wege zur Tat;
und will in stillen, irgendwie zörgernden Zeiten,
wenn etwas naht,
unter den Wissenden sein
oder allein.
Ich will dich immer spiegeln in ganzer Gestalt,
und will niemals blind sein oder zu alt,
um dein schweres schwankendes Bild zu halten.
Ich will mich entfalten.
Nirgends will ich gebogen bleiben,
denn dort bin ich gelogen, wo ich gebogen bin.
Und ich will meinen Sinn
wahr vor dir. Ich will mich beschreiben
wie ein Bild, das ich sah,
lange und nah,
wie ein Wort, das ich begriff,
wie meinen täglichen Krug,
wie meiner Mutter Gesicht,
wie ein Schiff,
das mich trug
durch den tödlichsten Sturm.

I am too alone in the world...
I am too alone in the world, and yet not alone enough
to make every hour holy.
I am too small in the world, and yet not tiny enough
just to stand before you like a thing,
dark and shrewd.
I want my will, and I want to be with my will
as it moves towards deed;
and in those quiet, somehow hesitating times,
when something is approaching,
I want to be with those who are wise
or else alone.
 
I want always to be a mirror that reflects your whole being,
and never to be too blind or too old
to hold your heavy, swaying image.
I want to unfold.
Nowhere do I want to remain folded,
because where I am bent and folded, there I am lie.
And I want my meaning
true for you. I want to describe myself
like a painting that I studied
closely for a long, long time,
like a word I finally understood,
like the pitcher of water I use every day,
like the face of my mother,
like a ship
that carried me
through the deadliest storm of all

Ik Ben Te Alleen In De Wereld

Omaha, Nebraska-based songwriter and guitarist

The Best

Ben Eisenberger

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