Autumn Leaves

Birdsong is a statement of intent, a battle cry, a rallying call to anyone who has ever been made to feel lesser by the world around them  

Lyrics, melody, arrangement: Emma Langford
Additional vocals: Jess Leen, Alma Kelliher, Sadhbh O'Sullivan, Cari Q, Niamh Farrell, Ruth Smith 
Drums: Davey Long 
Production / mix: The Production Suite, Dublin
Mastering: Richard Dowling, Wav Mastering, Limerick 

'Til your eyes find me I'm strong as my bones
'Til then here I stand, I am strong as my bones
'Til your eyes find me I am strong as my bones
'til then, only then I am strong as my bones

Then only then I am all self-doubt
All my will and my won't fly out of my mouth
Like a little white dove that you've trained so well
to sing prettily along to another bird's song

'Til your eyes find me I am strong as my bones
'til then, only then I am strong as my bones x 2

Meanwhile I’m tall, I am tow'ring above
All your hate in your soul can't undo this self-love
Like a little white dove that will soar on the wind
Proudly bruising my lungs with the songs I have sung

'Til your eyes find me I am strong as my bones
'til then, only then I am strong as my bones x 2

I'll beat my breast cry a great fearsome cry
See you cowering then, as I fly high
And when I am done, oh I’ll swoop on down
Seeking those eyes of judgement, I'll peck 'em out

'Til your eyes find me I am strong as my bones
'til then, only then I am strong as my bones

But for now I belong to no beast, man, or thing,
My own self is my own I am strong as my bones
Like a fierce bird of prey that knows only the hunt
With a strength you don't know how your pretty bird's flown

'Til your eyes find me I am strong as my bones
'til then, only then I am strong as my bones x 4

Birdsong (Sowing Acorns Album Edit)

Written in the depths of despair, anxiety and sleeplessness, Sowing Acorns grew from a gentle lullaby to a soaring anthem and is a beacon of hope, fearlessness, release and elation in a dark time 


[Intro: Vanessa Ifediora]
My loneliness reverberates around the thin cold walls
It's where I sleep, where I work
It's where I daydream

[Verse 1: Emma Langford]
I've been holding out on you these past nights
Hoping you'd find me yourself before light
Dreams they don’t come to me willingly now
Darkness no comfort, silence no shroud
I have to reason where reason allows
These eyes grow weary now tracing the lines
Counting the cracks in a grey plaster sky
Dreams don't entice them to rest for a while
Dreams are the locked box kept deep in the mind
And some fear what hides behind their own closed eyes

[Chorus: Emma Langford]
I’ve been sowing acorns in my densely woven mind
I’ve been growing trees from memories for us to climb
And when we reach the top what will we see?
And when we’ve climbed them all what will we dream?
Or will we dream?
Will we dream?

[Interlude: Vanessa Ifediora]
My bed is the safest and saddest place I know. It's where I wrap a tired arm around myself when my skin hurts from exhaustion
My bed is where I decide to survive

[Verse 2: Emma Langford]
So sleep will come to me now willingly
Peaceful and dreamless will overcome me
Words fade, this jaded mind gives up the fight
Worries and thoughts tangle, twist and unwind
Lost now I drift in this blue black of night

[Chorus: Emma Langford]
I’ve been sowing acorns in my densely woven mind
I’ve been growing trees from memories for us to climb
And when we reach the top what will we see?
And when we’ve climbed them all what will we dream?
Or will we dream?
Oh, will we dream?
Oh, will we dream?

[Outro: Vanessa Ifediora, Emma Langford]
My bed is where inspiration comes, where I drew my sketches (Oh will we dream)
It's where I wrote these words
My bed is where I imagine a gentle hand holding mine

Sowing Acorns (Sowing Acorns Album Edit) Ft. Vanessa Ifediora

"Winter Nights" is a long form piece, commissioned in 2021 by the Source Arts Centre in Thurles 

Emma Langford and Alec Brown combined their creative talents to create "Winter Nights", an immersive long-form piece of music bringing the listener on a wintery walk along the Shannon River in Limerick. 
The piece, inspired by the magic of moonlight and mist, originated as an acapella, lyrical piece which emerges as the track evolves. The listener can hear the fall of snow, footsteps in frozen grass, the rush of the Curragower falls, and the whistle of the wind through the trees. 
Langford and Brown used traditional instruments to create non-traditional sounds in this experiential piece, in which lyrical songwriting meets soundscaping.

Winter Nights

You know the funny thing about the day you realise who or what you are
Is that by the time it happens you're prob'ly not that anymore
And the funny thing is logic states for things to break they first must fall
And like any small or precious thing, you give nothing or you give all

I can't give you any more than that, I don't trust my clumsy feet not to make me fall flat
and the heart's the only muscle tissue - little known fact - that don't know how to heal itself if you cut it in half
so don't cut it in half

we spend our days in endless cycles of lust to oxytocin
never stopping to think about the space between us that we've chosen
well I can give my mouth, and my ear, but I can't give you my hand
cos though you're oh so understanding you can never understand

I can't give you any more than that, I don't trust my clumsy feet not to make me fall flat
and the heart's the only muscle tissue - little known fact - that don't know how to heal itself if you cut it in half
so don't cut it in half

so I will hand you cellotape and superglue, and staples
and I'll help you hold the pieces in place til you're fit and able
I can never be a surgeon cos my stomach's far from strong
but I hope my bedside sympathies suffice to help you moving on

I can't give you any more than that, I don't trust my clumsy feet not to make me fall flat
and the heart's the only muscle tissue - little known fact - that don't know how to heal itself if you cut it in half
so don't cut it in half
no don't cut it in half
I can't give you anymore than that


credits
Vocals & Guitar: Emma Langford
Bass: Peter Hanagan
Drums: Davey Long
Pedal Steel: Kealan Kenny

Recorded, mixed and produced by Graham Murphy & Chris O'Brien at The Production Suite, Dublin

Artwork: Emma Langford

released July 6, 2019

Goodbye Hawaii

In honour and in memory of Eamon Langford, a local legend and a great grand-uncle.

lyrics:
Oh the road stretches out before your feet on the winding way down to Kells Bay
And the Golden sunset's like no other they say on the winding way down to Kells Bay
Where sorrow's met with smiling eyes and a great black cloak brushed with stars for a sky
And the old trees lean in there to whisper a tale on the winding way down to Kells Bay

There's a song in the heart of the people you'll meet on the winding way down to Kells Bay,
Yes a joke to be shared and a drink to be drank on the winding way down to Kells Bay
And the green Kerry Hills overlooking the sea, and the fuschias are blooming so brightly and sweet
And the ocean could carry our worries away on the winding way down to Kells Bay

On the winding way down, oh the winding way down,
On the winding way down to Kells Bay
Yes the ocean could carry our worries away on the winding way down to Kells Bay

There's a saint on the hillside i dteach deas beag buí, on the winding way down to Kells Bay
Lean isteach leat a stóirín agus lig do scíth on the winding way down to Kells Bay,
And when the bell rings then we'll all head away on the winding road down to Kells Bay,
Where the ocean could carry our worries away on the winding way down to Kells Bay,

And the Golden sunset's like no other, they say, on the winding way down to Kells Bay,
And we'll stop for the chat, and the auld cupán tae, on the winding way down to Kells Bay.

Yes the ocean could carry our worries away, on the winding way down...
credits

released September 23, 2019

Chris O'Brien & Graham Murphy, The Production Suite, Dublin
Richard Dowling, WAV Mastering, Limerick

Emma Langford
Lucia Mac Partlin
Maria Ryan
Kealan Kenny
Peter Hanagan
Davey Long
Ray Yrure

The Winding Way Down to Kells Bay

Vanessa Ifediora’s poem, sampled in the track, draws on her own experiences of a condition called Maladaptive Daydreaming, and was published in March 2019 in her first book “Off-White Sheets”, a collection of images and poems detailing her anxieties surrounding recovery from depression.


lyrics:

My loneliness reverberates around the thin cold walls. It's where I sleep, where I work
It's where I daydream

I’ve been holding out on you these past nights,
Hoping you’d find me yourself before light
Dreams they don’t come to me willingly now
Darkness no comfort, silence no shroud,
So I have to reason where reason allows

These eyes grow weary now tracing the lines,
Counting the cracks in a grey plaster sky
Dreams don’t entice them to rest for a while,
Dreams are the locked box kept deep in the mind
And some fear what hides behind their own closed eyes

I’ve been sowing acorns in my densely woven mind
I’ve been growing trees from memories for us to climb
And when we reach the top what will we see?
And when we’ve climbed them all what will we dream?
Or will we dream?
Will we dream?

My bed is the safest and saddest place I know. It's where I wrap a tired arm around myself when my skin hurts from exhaustion.
My bed is where I decide to survive.

So sleep will come to me now willingly
Peaceful and dreamless will overcome me
Words fade, this jaded mind gives up the fight,
Worries and thoughts tangle, twist and unwind
Lost now I drift in this blue black of night

I’ve been sowing acorns in my densely woven mind
I’ve been growing trees from memories for us to climb
And when we reach the top what will we see?
And when we’ve climbed them all what will we dream?
Or will we dream?
Oh, will we dream?
Oh, Will we dream?

My bed is where inspiration comes, where I drew my sketches. It's where I wrote these words.
My bed is where I imagine a gentle hand holding mine.

credits

Off-White Sheets written and performed by Vanessa Ifediora
Lyrics & Melody, vocal and guitar: Emma Langford

Pedal steel - Kealan Kenny
Drums - Davey Long
Additional instruments - Graham Murphy

Recorded and produced by Chris O'Brien and Graham Murphy at The Production Suite, Dublin and Golden Egg Studios, Laois
Mastered by Richard Dowling at Wav Mastering, Limerick, Ireland

released February 28, 2020

Sowing Acorns

All Profits From the Sales of Mariana will go to Safe Ireland, to support individuals sheltering from domestic violence

Released In Loving Memory of Angeles Ito & Lesley-Anne Liddane

lyrics:

Mariana, listen to me,
I know an ocean lies between us,
But dear lady, honest truly,
I perceive more than I’ve seen thus far
And you, you’re much stronger, not much longer now ‘til this load comes off your back
You can shout now, let it out now, you don’t have to hold back


Mariana, in your bright eyes
I see dark skies ever looming
But amiga if I had the sunshine I would wrap it round your neck to warm you
Eastern beauty it’s a strange land,
And we’re strangers in this life
But dear lady, honest truly, it gets easier now, let it in a little light
And you, you’re much stronger, not much longer now ‘til this load comes off your back
You can shout now, let it out now, you don’t have to hold back,
have to hold back

Mariana, when your voice fades
Oh your soul shines like a beacon
And dear lady when your boy says that he misses you do you hear him?
Eastern beauty it’s a strange land,
And we’re strangers in this life
But dear lady, honest truly, it gets easier now, let it in a little light
And you, you’re much stronger, not much longer now ‘til this load comes off your back
You can shout now, let it out now,
you don’t have to hold- you, you’re much stronger,
not much longer now ‘til this load comes off your back,
you can shout now, let it out now,
You don’t have to hold back,
have to hold back

Mariana, listen to me
You don’t have to hold back

credits

Lyrics & Melody by Emma Langford

Guitar & Vocal by Emma Langford
Violins: Lucia Mac Partlin, Maria Ryan
Cello: Alec Brown
Additional Instruments: Graham Murphy

Arranged, Recorded & Produced by Chris O'Brien and Graham Murphy at The Production Suite, Dublin, Ireland

Mastered by Richard Dowling at Wav Mastering, Limerick, Ireland

Artwork: Sophia Cadogan, Gráinne Fahy & Emma Langford

released May 1, 2020

Mariana

At Seventeen

Emma Langford is a creator of folksy pop-y niceness; Story-teller; Mischief maker and activist; dog-lover; a fan of cake, stout and naps

Emma Langford

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