sparkbird complete

Hush! hush!
Listen to the Varied Thrush
The freezing rain has
Pushed them down into the valley
With the rest of us
Flushed
From the comfortably lush
Forest floor
They draw their bows across
Serrated edges of
Musical saws and crush
The frigid, sharply pointed hearts
Of icicles like us

Crush, crush, crush,
Crush, crush, crush,
Crush, crush, crush,
Crush, crush, crush,
Crush, crush, crush,
Crush, crush, crush,
Crush, crush, crush...

Swish! swish!
The Osprey hovers seeking fish
The glassy pond
Displays the menu but won't serve the dish
To birds who wish
To linger when
The air turns cold
Defying pressure
To defer to Cackling Geese
And Western

Gulls, wish, wish,
Wish, wish, wish,
Wish, wish, wish,
Wish, wish, wish,
Wish, wish, wish,
Wish, wish, wish,
Wish, wish, wish...

Who doesn't wish they could
Begin
To leave?
Who doesn't wish they could
Believe
In letting something end?
We have these wishes
But we're hung up
On a superstitious
Focus on the family
We see in Collared Doves
With love much stronger
Than we probably
Should ever hope
For ours to be.

Are we a "we are" today?
Will we be a "we will be" tomorrow?
Were we a "we were" already
Long ago?
We don't know
What price makes sense to pay,
So we settle for indebted sorrow,
Never knowing we could dine and
Dash into that nullifying snow.

Thrash! thrash!
The so-called trash birds
Taking baths
Betray their cuteness
In the recklessness with which
They lash
Their lustrous feathers
Petroleum with flecks of ash
In an unseasonable
Puddle
Glaciating fast

Splash, splash, splash,
Splash, splash, splash,
Splash, splash, freeze,
Splash, splash, splash,
Freeze, splash, splash,
Splash, splash, splash,
Splash, splash, freeze,
Splash, splash, splash...

Hush! hush!
Listen to the Varied Thrush
Hush! hush!
Hush! hush!
Listen to the Varied Thrush,
Hush! hush!
Hush! hush!
Hush! hush!
Hush! hush!

Varied Thrush

2nd place winner of Yishan Wong's 2021 Solarpunk Art Contest! 🎉
medium.com/@yishan/solarpunk-art-contest-2021-winners-d935df357c84

Lyrics:

A city in ruin
But only for the blink of an eye
A pitiful tune
But only for a moment in time
In the long run

We came back to these old streets
When the barriers had all gotten
Buried at sea
And when these buildings all
Turned green
We agreed
It’s better than it used to be

How long has it been
Since we last felt fear of the sun and the wind
And how long will it be till we feel
The Metropolis of Eden we live in is real?

A city in bloom
A city with that adapts to survive
A little more room
For underdogs and misfits to thrive

In the rooftop gardens
The Purple Finches are pecking out the eyes
Of the wild yellow sunflowers
Smiling at vanilla skies
And you and I are finally free
To do the things we like
Be it making art or making out
And stargazing every night, and oh
How sweet would it be
If an Eastern Phoebe nested
On the balcony, and oh
How sweet to begin
Seeing life as a gift,
Not a contest to win

We came back to these old streets
When the barriers had all gotten
Buried at sea
And when these buildings all
Turned green
We agreed
It’s better than it used to be

How long has it been
Since we last felt fear of the sun and the wind
And how long will it be till we feel
The Metropolis of Eden we live in is real?

How long has it been
Since we last felt fear of the sun and the wind
And how long will it be till we feel
The Metropolis of Eden we live in is real?

A city in bloom
(We can do the things we like)
A city in bloom
(We can do the things we like)
A city in bloom
(We can do the things we like)
A city in bloom
credits
releases December 24, 2021
Music & lyrics by Stephan Nance
Arrangement by Stephan Nance

Piano/vocals/synths - Stephan Nance
Percussion - Mathias Kunzli

Mixing & mastering by Thaddeus Moore, Liquid Mixing & Mastering

Recorded in Portland and Los Angeles

Artwork by Leif Holt
Graphic design by Chad Lowe

Metropolis of Eden

Ta-da!
Today
The headache finally goes away
The headache finally goes
Ta-da!
Today
I feel the harmony between
My heart and body and my brain
Everything will be okay

And if you ask what bird I want to be
I'll say a blue jay
If you ask what time I want to leave
I'll change the conversation
If you lean in close and kiss me
I won't mind
I’ll probably respond in kind

Ta-da!
Today
I find the energy to play
I find the energy
Ta-da!
Today
I hear a friendly melody
In every enemy refrain
Everything will be okay
Everything will be okay

Ta-da!
Today
I see the light across the bay
Ta-da!
Today
A sudden symphony
is somewhere out there trumpeting my name
Everything will be okay

And if you ask what bird I want to be
I'll say a blue jay
If you ask what time I want to leave
I'll change the conversation
If you lean in close and kiss me
I won't mind
I’ll probably respond in kind
I’ll probably respond in kind
I’ll probably respond in kind
I’ll probably respond in kind.


credits

released January 7, 2022
Music & lyrics by Stephan Nance
Arrangement by Stephan Nance

Piano/vocals - Stephan Nance
Percussion - Mathias Kunzli
Electric bass - Jeni Magana
Trumpet - Jackie Coleman

Mixing & mastering by Thaddeus Moore, Liquid Mixing & Mastering

Recorded in Portland, Los Angeles, and New York

Artwork by Rebecca DeMoss
Graphic design by Chad Lowe

Blue Jay

Why are there so many songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide

So we've been told, and some choose to believe it
I know they're wrong, wait and see

Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me

Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that, and someone believed it
Look what it's done so far

What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing
And what do we think we might see?

Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me

All of us under its spell
We know that it's probably magic

Have you been half asleep, and have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same

I've heard it too many times to ignore it
It's something that I'm s'posed to be

Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me
La da da di da da ooh
La da da da la di da ooh
credits


Music & lyrics by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher
Arrangement by Stephan Nance

Piano/vocals - Stephan Nance
Percussion - Mathias Kunzli
Electric bass - Jeni Magana
Trumpet - Jackie Coleman

Mixing & mastering by Thaddeus Moore, Liquid Mixing & Mastering

Recorded in Portland, Los Angeles, and New York

Graphic design by Chad Lowe

Rainbow Connection

I am living in the eye of the storm
Winded and unwound
Down on the floor
Trying to find the door
Trying to find the door
Trying to find the door

I can’t see for all the dust in the air
Could wave it away
But I wouldn’t dare
Some of it might be you
Some of it might be you
Some of it might be you

Every day and every night
You were the
Soundtrack of my life
And now it’s all a
Silent film
Every cloudy afternoon
Your voice rang out and
Lit the room
But now it’s always
Dark and
Oh so quiet

I don’t even know where to begin
I don’t even know where to begin
Sometimes the days were long
Sometimes the days were long
Sometimes the days were long
But the years were so short

I am living in the shell of a home
Never dreamed I’d feel so
Sad and alone again
Didn’t we have more time?
I thought we had more time.
Couldn’t we have more time?

Every day and every night
You were the
Soundtrack of my life
And now it’s all a
Silent film
Every cloudy afternoon
Your voice rang out and
Lit the room
But now it’s always
Dark and
Oh so quiet

I don’t even know where to begin
I don’t even know where to begin
Trying to find the door
Trying to find the door
Trying to find the door

Silent Film

I am
In trouble with myself again
I am
In trouble trouble trouble trouble
I am
In trouble with myself again
I am
In trouble trouble trouble

But I do believe
There's beauty within
That's why I can't stop
Picking my skin
Digging for a buried treasure
Digging for a way for me to

Say goodbye
To the stranger on the other side
Say hello
To the bliss of a
Disembodied mind

I am
In trouble with myself again
I am
In trouble trouble trouble trouble
I am
In trouble with myself again
I am
In trouble trouble trouble

But I do believe
There's a reason to live
That is why I'm gonna go
To sea in a sieve
Get me soaked and squeeze me through
Till there's nothing left to do but

Say goodbye
To the stranger on the other side
Say hello
To the bliss of a
Disembodied mind

I am
In trouble with myself again
I am
In trouble trouble trouble trouble
I am
In trouble with myself again
I am
In trouble trouble trouble

And I don’t believe
We could ever agree
That’s why I’ll do anything
To keep myself away from me
Maybe when I’m out of sight
I’ll see me in a better light

Eyes shut tight
Better get this right
Every word of the spell
To rip the soul from its shell

Say goodbye
To the stranger on the other side
Say hello
To the bliss of a
Disembodied mind

I am
in trouble with myself again
I am
in trouble trouble trouble trouble
I am
in trouble with myself again
I am
in trouble

Credits:

Music & lyrics by Stephan Nance
Produced by Stephan Nance
Co-produced by Mathias Kunzli
Arrangement by Stephan Nance & Mathias Kunzli
Strings arrangement by Anna Fritz & Stephan Nance
Percussion arrangement by Mathias Kunzli
Thanks to Gabriel Kahane and Nevada Jones

Piano/synths/lead vocals/backing vocals - Stephan Nance
Percussion - Mathias Kunzli
Strings - Bizarre Star Strings (Anna Fritz - cello, Kyleen King - viola, Mirabai Peart - violin)
Bass - Jeni Magana
Backing vocals - Mathias Kunzli

Disembodied Mind

I don’t know this town
But it’s your town
So it’s my town too
I don’t know that girl
But she knows you
So she’s my friend too

I don’t know my way
But I can count on you
To show it to me
I am not a stranger
When I’m with you
When I’m with you
Do do do do do do do

Your mother seems to like me
And you tell me that it’s true
Your cousin makes me food
That I have only ever
Dreamed of trying

I can tell
That I could be so happy
Here with you forever
I am not a stranger
When I’m with you
When I’m with you
Do do do do do do do do do

Your room is a cave
That offers shelter from the stormy weather
And beneath a pile of blankets
We can hide away together
We can hide away together
We can hide away together
We can hide away together
We can

When it’s time
For me to up and leave
There’s a part of me
I can’t make follow

All day long
I’m longing for you
And the tears are so hard to swallow

After knowing life with you
Life without you leaves me hollow
Oh oh oh

I don’t know my way
But I can count on you
To show it to me
I am not a stranger
When I’m with you
When I’m with you

Well, I don’t know this road
But I can count on you
To lead me down it
I am not a stranger
When I’m with you
When I’m with you
When I’m with you
When I’m with you

I Am Not a Stranger Here

Lyrics:

One small sound
One small word 
In tongues all over the world
I said it
I said it 
One small word
I said it
I didn't
I said it
I didn't
Tongues all over

Can't pick them out
Can't press them in 
I'll never hide my scars
Can't pick them out
Can't press them in
I'll never hide my scars 
I'll never hide my scars 

One small sound
One small sight 
One unsheathed knife must glint 
In an alternate timeline's light
One rust-ridden blade juts out 
Of a friendly moonstruck shape
To tear, tear terribly, terribly
Tear, tear terribly 
The delicate crepe of night

Familiarity breeds
Indifference
Familiarity breeds discontent
Familiarity breeds
Indifference
Familiarity breeds discontent

My other time machine
A pungent, putrid brownish-green 
November smile 
Blandishing my two-timing door

One small sound
One small bite
One tomial tooth
One Loggerhead Shrike must skewer 
My invertebrate doppelgänger 
On barbed wire in a parallel universe 

My tongue parallelly bleeds 
One small drop 
In a monthful of blood 
In tongues all over the world
I said it, I didn't
It doesn't matter
What I said or didn't
Admit it
You were never going to get it
I was always gonna get it

Can't pick them out
Can't press them in 
I'll never hide my scars
Can't pick them out
Can't press them in
I'll never hide my
Familiarity breeds
Familiarity breeds

Not only is it thicker
Blood is stickier than water
Maybe that's relevant somehow
Can I explode now?

Credits:
Music & lyrics by Stephan Nance
Produced by Josh Frigo
Co-produced by Stephan Nance
Keyboard, vocals, backing vocals - Stephan Nance
Drums & percussion - Mathias Kunzli
Bass - Jeni Magana
Strings arrangement - Stephan Nance and Michelle Packman
Strings - Bizarre Star Strings:
• Patti King - violin
• Kyleen King - viola
• Anna Fritz -  cello
Guitar, additional backing vocals - Josh Frigo
Vocal coaching - Nevada Jones and Adam Sweeney
Vocals recorded at The Map Room
Vocal session engineer - Adam Sweeney
Mixed by Josh Frigo
Mastered by Alex Dobbert
Artwork - Rebecca DeMoss
Graphic design - Chad Lowe

November

Lyrics:

Sparks fly 
Every time I
Identify a species I have
Hitherto never 
Seen in the field 
Seen in the feather 
Sparkbird 
Destiny drew us together 
Every smile line on my face 
Can be retraced 
Down to the split second 
Down to the split place 

Is it magical thinking 
Or is it magical realism 
Or is it neither here nor there? 
Every time I check my wrist 
It's another brand new freckle 
Past another brand new hair 
I'm growing up, up, up 
Against my will, will 
Will you finally resurrect 
The time I've killed? 
Will you finally resurrect 
The time I've killed, killed, killed? 

Sparks fly 
Every time I visit this park 
I envision the phantom 
Of a giddy little cartoon me 
Jittering on the electrifying
Cusp of discovery 
Before and after the storm 
All I wanted was to be seen
And to see

Some signs of a world still
Turning, turning, turning 
Some signs of a world still
Forming, forming, forming 
Rebirth of a dream still
Burning, burning, burning

Is it magical thinking 
Or is it magical realism 
Or is it neither here nor there? 
Every time I check my wrist 
It's another brand new freckle 
Past another brand new hair 
I'm growing up, up, up 
Against my will, will 
Will you finally resurrect 
The time I've killed? 
Will you finally resurrect 
The time I've killed, killed, killed? 

Sparkbird 
Sparkbird

Credits:

Music and lyrics by Stephan Nance
Produced by Josh Frigo
Co-produced by Stephan Nance
Woodwinds and strings arrangement - Josh Plotner
Keyboard and vocals - Stephan Nance
Guitar, backing vocals - Josh Frigo
Upright bass - Jeni Magana
Percussion - Mathias Kunzli
Alto flute, English horn - Josh Plotner
Violin, viola, cello - Yoed Nir
Lead vocals recorded at The Map Room
Woodwinds recorded at Josh Plotner's studios
Strings recorded at Yoed Nir's Studios
Engineer (lead vocals) - Adam Sweeney
Vocal coaching - Nevada Jones and Adam Sweeney
Mixed by Josh Frigo
Mastered by Alex Dobbert
Artwork - Rebecca DeMoss
Graphic design - Chad Lowe

Sparkbird

Envy

Lyrics:

Toeing a trench
In the mulch between
Your patch and mine
I stubbed myself on a treacherous thistle
And I cried out
If it were merely
A matter of a stray thorny bristle
A barrier screen could be laid
And I wouldn't miss you

We could go the distance
Were there more disease resistance
On your part
Nothing lasts forever
When you never
Let it start

Every day I pass this way
I expect to find you
Waiting for me
Beneath the branches
Of the buckeye tree
Waving a palmetto frond
Siphoning orange juice
With a barber pole-ish wand

Red horsechestnut?
Clever disguise
I, of course, guessed, but
Said you'd never naturalize

Species zag as seasons zig
Tough to keep plants in one place
Any chance they get, they diaspore
Or else transmutate
Traipsing looping garden paths
Chasing floodplain Tupelo
Tracing roots to Ponderosa
Tangling with a Strangler fig

Now in an old growth Bald-cypress stand
Knees locked in the strand swamp
Black- and yellow-crowned Night Herons
Abound in colonies
Conferring on me collective memory
My eyelids flutter
Orbits fill with water
Hemlock in my hammock
Limbs thrash, I spit and sputter
Alligator drags me under
Into the solution hole

To protect me from
Elements of fantasy
That thrive in shady reality
To offer respite from
The demands of gardening
To show me
Trees are just the fruit
Of an even bigger tree


Credits:

Produced by Josh Frigo
Co-produced by Stephan Nance
Stephan Nance - keyboard, vocals, backing vocals
Josh Frigo - banjo, guitar, backing vocals
Mathias Kunzli - percussion, drums
Josh Plotner - flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, bass clarinet
Yoed Nir- violin, viola, cello
Percussion arrangement by Mathias Kunzli
String arrangement by Yoed Nir
Strings recorded at Yoed Nir's Studios
Woodwinds arrangement by Josh Plotner
Woodwinds recorded at Josh Plotner's Studios
Lead vocals engineered by Adam Sweeney at Opal Recording Studio in Portland, Oregon
Vocal coaching by Nevada Jones and Adam Sweeney
Mixed by Josh Frigo
Mastered by Alex Dobbert
Artwork by Rebecca DeMoss
Graphic design by Chad Lowe

Arboretum

Wake up and look out the window
Half the yard is burning and
The other half is covered in snow

Is it Arbor Day?
Is it Boxing Day?
I’m sure today must be a
Minor holiday

Season’s grievings to us, one and all
Once we get the hang of it
We’ll forget to get upset

Bearing each unsettling new pall
So adaptable
We’re so adaptable

So adaptable
We’re so adaptable
As the world is ending
We can keep pretending

That none of this will matter in an hour
First we lose the polar bears
Now we lose the flowers

Not a summer’s day
Not a winter’s day
Not a summer’s day
Not a winter’s day
Shall I compare thee to
The Judgment Day?

Is it All Saints’ Day?
Is it All Souls’ Day?
Is it All Fools’ Day?
Is it All Saints’ Day?
Is It All Souls’ Day?
Is it All Fools’ Day?

Is it Arbor Day?
Is it Boxing Day?
I’m sure today must be a
Minor holiday

And the world is ending
And we keep pretending
That none of this will matter in an hour

---

Music & lyrics by Stephan Nance
Arrangement by Stephan Nance

Piano/vocals - Stephan Nance
Percussion - Mathias Kunzli
Strings - Yoed Nir
Upright bass - Jeni Magana
Backing vocals - Greta Gertler
Clarinet - Lisa Parrott

Mixing & mastering by Thaddeus Moore, Liquid Mixing & Mastering

Recorded in Portland, Los Angeles, New York, and Sydney, Australia!

sparkbird complete

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