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

Dress Like A Pirate - stream -> https://linktr.ee/madilynmei

lyrics:

what if i woke up and decided
i wanna dress like a pirate

i’m pretty tired of folding clothes
every day down at target

well maybe someday ill sail the sea
glad i woke up to write this song
if it makes me enough money
i’ll be gone gone gone gone gone

don’t wanna spread any hate
or do much plunderin to ya
just wanna map that may or may not
lead me to buried moola

oh i blame it all on my dad
he’d always urge me to play along
makin movies in the backyard
oh my heart is too far gone

well maybe someday ill sail the sea
be the hero of my own tale
if i die before then maybe
i’ll reincarnate as a whale

where’s the green flag
where’s my go head
wanna do something
crazy before i’m dead
lotsa red flags
i’m ignoring them
don’t need a ship
guess a raft would be alright instead
just get me out of here
just get me out of here

one day i woke up and decided i wanna dress like a pirate
i’m pretty tired of folding clothes every day down at target

well maybe someday ill sail that sea
be the hero of my own life
if it makes me enough money
i’ll finally quit my 9-to-5

well just you watch ima sail that sea
glad i woke up to write this song
when it makes me enough money
ill be gone gone gone gone gone
gone gone gone gone gone
gone gone gone gone gone
gone gone gone gone gone

Dress Like A Pirate

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

Fish in an 8Bitcage

Fish in an 8Bitcage (Button Masher Remix)

How strange I am to all
How strange to sleep so long

Not a soul, not a soul
Will meet my gaze or greet me
And the carob tree’s brittle leaves
Rattle hoarsely on the wind

“You are out of time
You are out of favor
You are but a cipher
You are the circle maker
You are out of time
You are out of favor
You are but a cipher
You are the circle maker

“How strange you are to all
How strange to sleep so long

“How strange to grow so old
And to never grow up
And to never grow tall
And to never grow wise
And to never grow anything
But smaller and farther away”

How strange I am to all
How strange to sleep so long

But in sleep, I may dream
Fairy lights illuminating everything
Everyone gathered all around me
Singing a song

Only the carob tree
Will keep me company
Oh, bitter friend
Oh, beloved enemy
Symbol of the time gone by
And stretching out in front of me
A lonely life of any length is like eternity

And I am out of time
I am out of favor
I am but a cipher
I am the circle maker
Praying for the rain
Paying for the prayer
Begging for a sign that I was
Ever even there

How strange I am to all
How strange to sleep so long

To sleep to feel seen
To sleep perchance to dream

The Circle Maker

The Circle Maker (Demo)

Here for You

Tracked and Mixed by Ian Gorman at La Luna. Mastered by Glenn Brown.

The Crane Wives - The Garden

I thought I had been shot— 
Been shot a thousand times— 
It's not a shocking way to die 
In the fields this side of 
The enemy lines.

But I've fired my fair share of guns, 
And I know full well that bullets 
Don't just fall down from the sky— 
So I opened up my eyes.

I saw a flash of light— 
I saw it through the black—whoa! 
I saw the flooded track— 
I felt the hail upon my back—oh, 
I saw the start of the foggy maze— 
I couldn't see for several days— 
But then a sunbreak finally 
Burned away the haze.

(You know I'd kiss you if I could—ah, 
But my lips are made of wood, 
And it wouldn't do to splinter you 
In an unfamiliar neighborhood.)

I dodged a ball of flames 
Fueled by the dust the sun'd kicked up 
A stone's throw from the tonsil crypt 
I eschewed the beaten path 
On a SUP.

Tight-lipped and planing through 
The murky millrace surface— 
These flavescent leaves, 
Crispy teardrops shed from crying trees— 
Murmurations— 
"'Tis autumn?" 
"No, only fallout," 
Sighed beside 
A chemical breeze.

Oh, stratocumulus 
Oh, circumbendibus 
I saw and ceased to push 
I'd seen and heard too much 
My oar became a crutch 
I sculled into a reef 
It sawed the board in half 
I saw my former single fin 
I soldered lead and tin 
I sauntered out 
I saw interred my kith and kin

(You know I'd hold this post a while 
If I could only learn to smile 
But by the time I've earned the privilege 
Only grimaces will be in style.)

Surf Scoter on the pond 
Coyote on the fescue

Siroccos on the flesh 
Globe lightning to the rescue

An earthly comet rolling by 
A stoic guide toward a new clear era 
No shadows on the sterile mind 
No leks distract the prairie-chickens from their terror

I found a brand new clearing 
Next to the old new clearing 
A welcome change 
From the adjacent older new old clearing 
I didn't feel at peace but 
I didn't feel at war— 
A welcome change.

(You know, I went to your old home 
You know, the site of your new grave 
You know, I'd pay my last respects 
But the respects I have I'd better save.)

Stephan Nance - vocals, piano, synth
Milo Fultz - bass
Tim McLaughlin - trumpet
Merlin Showalter - drums, percussion
Arrangement - Adam Caswell, Milo Fultz, Stephan Nance, Merlin Showalter

Lead & Tin

Never Love An Anchor

The Crane Wives - Take Me To War

does ur insecurity ever get so bad that u just wanna yeet urself into a forest and screech at passersby?
more tunes at ratwyfe,bandcamp.com

cryptid (mothman)

indie chamber pop (bardcore)
pronouns: they/them