Finally, new song! I've been gone for way too long, I know.
This one was commissioned by terezi-shmerezi for her story. It takes place in a futuristic but steampunk world and centers around a young woman named Rosa who can communicate with ghosts and see the inevitable death of anyone she touches. 
•••
She walks like no woman that I’ve ever seen before
like dancing on the air instead of dancing on the floor
and each step she takes just fills you with such grace
that you’re always left wanting more.

I’ve heard but some whispers that I cannot quite believe
I’ve heard that she keeps men and women hanging to her sleeve
and begging for some scraps of her voice of golden silk
which they will, gratefully, receive.

But they say, oh they say, that her skin is a spell
and they see, oh they see, the sadness in her eyes when she wishes them farewell

Oh dancing girl, let’s see you twirl, we will watch you through the night
and when you feel us, you will know us, you will see a horrid sight
they tell me you can foretell the doom of every hand within your clutch
and all the mortals will cower before your touch.

She seems to reach the sky with her gloves of woven milk
and every star she touches falls into her palm of silk
and every time she pulls off them off and leaves her fingers cold
her smile turns sad and wise and so old.

But they tell of some darkness that haunts behind her eyes
They say that she hears whispers, they say that she is wise
they say that they have heard her saying in her sleep
that everyone eventually dies.

And she cries, oh she cries, and never answers why
but there are whispers that she knows endings and she knows how we will die.

Oh cursed child, let’s see you smile, at the people you have doomed
and paint the patterns on the floor when you dance across the room
oh young companion, let’s see your gold skin, it is nearly too much
and you will grow up learning to fear your touch.

Touch

A song co-written by moi and my friend Allison, who plays her cello beautifully. We hope you enjoy!
~
I’m running through this house of mirrors
All I can see is my reflection
We all live in this house of mirrors
The only way out is in.

Is this my reality? Are these pixels on my TV?
Are these moments genuine? Is my life even mine?
I was born within these halls, I am plastered on these thin walls
every turn I see another version of myself.
These walls never shatter, the glass is ever bending 
They control the latter, the shift is never ending
I can tell no longer which one of me is real
I don’t think it matters anyway.

I’m running through this house of mirrors
All I can see is my reflection
We all live in this house of mirrors
The only way out is in.

What is our reality? Darkness and brutality?
Lethality, morality, mortality, normality?
There’s nothing that was meant to be, no manifest destiny
there is only is and how it seems to be.
There’s nothing here that matters and nothing here that doesn’t
there’s nothing here that ever was and nothing here that wasn’t
and pathways twisting, turning, fill you up with quiet yearning
for somewhere where you know you’ve found your way.

Stop asking for reality, it’s no better than a screen.
I can bend these walls and make them melt the way I want.
I was blind but now I see: you can’t run and you can’t leave
and objects in these mirrors may be closer than they seem
glass can never shatter, it only can be twisted
no matter how hard we punch – angry and tight-fisted
it’s not about escaping, or looking for the door
I don’t want to get out anymore.

I’m running through this house of mirrors
All I can see is my reflection
We all live in this house of mirrors
The only way out is in.


Out Is In

Finally, as promised long ago, a Night Vale song! This one is for Carlos the Scientist, back when he was still stuck in that desert otherworld.

Stay tuned for the upcoming Home Pt. 2...
•••
As I wander through this strange world
with these bright skies and these red lights
I just wonder how you all are
all the way back home.
 
Is it sunny? Is your cold gone?
Did I leave the kitchen stove on?
Are you happy? Do you miss me?
How are you getting by alone?
 
Well I’m alright, I’m fine.
I guess I’m meant to roam.
To never settle down somewhere,
to never have a home.
 
And I don’t know where your town is
and I don’t know how I came
I just know that once I got there
my entire life had changed.
 
It’s not what I was expecting
it’s not what I thought I wanted
but these moments I’ve collected
are the times I’d never trade.
 
And they’re all in my mind
These memories you’ve sown
like when I asked and you agreed
that we could start a home
 
I guess I was delusional or otherwise just juvenile
to think that just by wishing I could change the facts
but I’m a scientist and none of this can alter the hypothesis
that I don’t belong anywhere, in fact
 
I’ve been thinking for some time now
maybe this was meant to be
maybe I’m meant to get stuck here
and you’re meant to be here with me
 
But sometimes I close my eyes and
I see nothing but the strange land
where I found friends, love, and purpose
and for once I was not alone.
 
When those doors shut, then I realized
that no matter how hard I tried
I could never be a part of
that place that I called home.
 
But that’s alright, it’s fine
‘cause thanks to you I’ve known
what it feels like to live somewhere
what it feels like to love someone
to truly have a home.

Home Pt. 1

"Be Wherever You Are" from Steven Universe (Ukulele Cover)

The theme song for Let's Make a Music, our Podcast. You can find us at http://letsmakeamusic.podbean.com or on iTunes!

Let's Make A Music Theme

from my album "the summer i met the storm" inspired by denpasei's "ultramarine weather." 
download the album: http://helenaruth.com/storm
read the comic: https://tapas.io/series/ultramarineweather

the summer i met the storm

meet her / the wind and the waves

all credit for this song goes to Brian David Gilbert and Jonah Scott over at The Altogether. Please go support them!

Mountain Man Song // The Altogether

Our very first song - a cover of "Barlights" by Fun.

Barlights (Fun. cover)

A bossa nova cover of the iconic '90s hit "Fat Lip" by Sum 41.

Fat Lip (Sum 41 cover)

You Make My Dreams (Hall & Oates cover)

The cover that sent us shivering back to our dorm rooms on a chilly February afternoon.

Let's Make A Music Theme

Scott & Gilbert