Folk

I Was Neon

This one started with Tom Waits, saying "There's no Prayer Like Desire". 

And then, I thought... 
"Truth is NOT found in WHO powers the light, not who we know or like, who won the fight, it’s not about who is good looking, sweet talking, crowd pleasing, or even award winning… truth is WHO about we believe in. Truth is NOT about WHAT we happen to believe in… truth is not what the preachers, saints, or sinners may say, whisper or scream. It’s not what we do that matters, truth is not about what book we choose to read into, it’s what songs we like to sing, or what tales we like share, or what false promises make us linger. Truth is not HOW or WHEN or WHERE we like to dance. It’s not about HOW one delivers an act of faith between two breaths, it’s now HOW others translate where it came from, when they can even fathom, it’s not about where the will to trust old words wisdom leads us, not how we preach along Leviticus or even Confucius.
The truth that matters, the only truth I care about is WHY. It is the truth that never lies, because it lies deep inside one’s heart desires. It is why we choose to join the dance, why we break into a trance, why we find balance, why we care to dare bare the lore of lies untold. Truth is the soul that fuels the bold, the brave, it is the fire that burns in one’s true heart’s desire, the only prayer that shines like it’s divine. Truth is the beat of intimate intentions, the pulse of our deepest motivations, the seed of true  salvation. The truth is the only truth that matters is raw, it’s the reason WHY we love to share, WHY we dare to be in the bare, WHY we hope to win, why we pray we live. Because there’s no prayer like desire."

And then, I wrote several short (unreleased) KNOWsutra But(t) Why songs, all titled "There's No Prayer Like Desire"... this is one 'em.

@bananasutra #originalsong #lyrics

[verse 1]
Not who powers the light,
Not who wins the fight,
It’s the song in the air,
And the love that we dare.

[verse 2]
Truth lies in the why,
In the tears when we cry,
Not what we preach or believe,
But what we feel and receive.

[chorus]
There’s no prayer like desire,
It’s what lights the fire,
It’s not the book we read,
But the hunger that we feed.


[01] Not Who Powers • There's No Prayer Like Desire • KNOWsutra But(t) Why Banjo Destiny BLUES

Illinois

Casimir Pulaski Day

Good Times!

Me & Magdalena

Burn Your Fire For No Witness

Unfucktheworld

Moondance

Into the Mystic (2013 Remaster)

Concerning the UFO sighting near Highland, Illinois

Front Row Seat to Earth

Seven Words

Freedom

Blue Rose

U.F.O.F.

Cattails

even through the dark, dark, dark days

'What's On Your Mind' by Sandtimer

Robert Sword: Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Ukulele, Bass, Percussion 
Simon Thomas: Vocals, Guitar
Rachel Thomas: Vocals

Written by Robert Sword 
Produced & arranged by Robert Sword & Simon Thomas 
Mixed by Giles Thomas & Robert Sword
Mastered by Terry Waker at Tonalex Mastering
Cover artwork by Simon Thomas
Cover design by William Thomas
_____________________________
Lyrics

Even through the dark, dark, dark days
there was never a doubt how this would end,
there was never an 'if', just a 'when'.
But now I've moved on some way
look back over all that time again-
is it a waste that time I've spent?
But it's already over, it's already gone.

Are we just slaves to a system we create?
Are we just slaves to a system?
'I guess I thought that my whole, whole, whole life
Look back and I wonder if it's just me-
am I the one who isn't free?'
But it's already over, it's already gone.

Are we just slaves to a system we create?
Are we just slaves to a system?
I guess we just move back, back, back and forth
between the extremities of thought:
are we the captors or the caught?
But it's already over, it's already gone.
It's already over, it's already gone.

What's On Your Mind

30 miles west of El Paso, surrounded by 3,000 acres of pecan orchards and only a stone’s throw from the Mexican border, the band Big Thief (a.k.a. Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek, Max Oleartchik, and James Krivchenia) set up their instruments as close together as possible to capture their most important collection of songs yet. The band had only just finished work on their 3rd album, U.F.O.F. -“the celestial twin”- days before in a cabin studio in the woods of Washington State. Now it was time to birth U.F.O.F.’s sister album -“the earth twin”- Two Hands. 

In sharp contrast to the wet environment of the U.F.O.F. session, the southwestern Sonic Ranch studio was chosen for its vast desert location. The 105-degree weather boiled away any clinging memories of the green trees and wet air of the previous session. Two Hands had to be completely different— an album about the Earth and the bones beneath it. The songs were recorded live with almost no overdubs. All but two songs feature entirely live vocal takes, leaving Adrianne’s voice suspended above the mix in dry air, raw and vulnerable as ever. Where U.F.O.F. layered mysterious sounds and effects for levitation, Two Hands grounds itself on dried-out, cracked desert dirt. 

Anybody who has borne witness to Big Thief in the wild will find songs they recognize here. Much of the album’s tracks (“The Toy”, “Those Girls”, “Shoulders”, “Not”, “Cut My Hair”) have been live staples for years. “Two Hands has the songs that I’m the most proud of; I can imagine myself singing them when I’m old,” says Adrianne. “Musically and lyrically, you can’t break it down much further than this. It’s already bare-bones.” 

Lyrically this can be felt in the poetic blur of the internal and external. These are political songs without political language. They explore the collective wounds of our Earth. Abstractions of the personal hint at war, environmental destruction, and the traumas that fuel it. Lyrics like “And the blood of the man who killed my mother with his hands is in me/ it’s in me/ in my veins” are genuine attempts to point the listener towards the very real dangers that face our mother planet. When Adrianne sings “Please wake up,” she’s talking directly to the audience. “Attention is power,” she says. “I believe you can manifest something on the other side of the world just by using your power well.” 

Engineer Dom Monks and producer Andrew Sarlo, who were both behind U.F.O.F., capture the live energy as instinctually and honestly as possible. Sarlo teamed up with James Krivchenia to mix the album, where they sought to emphasize raw power and direct energy inherent in the takes. The journey of a song from the stage to the record is often a difficult one. Big Thief’s advantage is their bond and loving center as a chosen family. They spend almost 100% of their lives together working towards a sound that they all agree upon. A band with this level of togetherness is increasingly uncommon. If you ask drummer James Krivchenia, bassist Max Oleartchik or guitarist Buck Meek how they write their parts, they will describe—passionately—the experience of hearing Adrianne present a new song, listening intently for hints of parts that already exist in the ether and the undertones to draw out with their respective instruments. It is an honor to give life to these intricacies. 

With raw power and intimacy, Two Hands folds itself gracefully into Big Thief’s impressive discography. This body of work grows deeper and more inspiring with each new album. While you listen, let your own two hands rest in front of your body with palms facing inward and see what power grows between them.

Cattails

Big Thief

Recent comments

JoshM

AK Morty Spevens

Related tracks