Lyrics:

When the words won’t come,
And your tongue is tied,
Your story feels foggy,
The silence seems alive

But don’t give up,
If you’re not heard,
Longing lives in the space beyond the words

It’s in the hillsides; it’s in the trees,
The ones you planted, and now you watch them swaying in the breeze
It’s a chance encounter, the vague memory,
A faded sundress, somewhere, some field, in maybe ‘63
It’s in the pulling, the gravity,
It’s in the time when you took the chance without the guarantee

​When the quiet comes,
And you’re all alone,
It’s you and the window,
Facing the unknown

But don’t give in,
As you look out,
You catch your reflection
Your eyes spell it out

​It’s in the moonlight, a fingers trace,
It’s in the times when you read their lips across the crowded space
It’s in the cravings; it’s in the pace,
It’s in the owning that though you’ve tried, you can’t seem to replace,
It’s in the music; it’s in the pace,
It’s in the knowing that though they’re gone, their ghost you’ll always chase

​When the words won’t come
Your tongue is tied
Deep breath in, even longing leaves with time

Credits:
Sara MacDonald- vocals, electric guitar, piano
Jordy Walker- electric guitar, drums, bass, 
Odette Burns- vocal harmonies

Recorded, Produced and Mixed by Jordy Walker at Stackwall Sound,  Whitehorse, YT
Mastered by Philip Shaw Bova at Bova Lab Studio, Ottawa, ON

All songs Copyright the august arrival, SOCAN, 2024 © all rights reserved

Hillsides

Lyrics:

I watched you stand alone for an hour
Kicking snow to pass the time
And now I'm calling out the higher powers
For their reckless, flawed designs

And that snow as it falls leaves piles upon his shoulders
And the weight, it’s too much, though it’s dry
As I shift into drive, catch your shadow in my rearview
As I whisper through fears my goodbyes

On first stars, last candles and white horses-
My thoughts they always go to you
And now my mind works through its divorces
Of thoughts once believed as true

Cause that snow as it falls piles up upon the shoulders
And the weight- it’s too much, though it’s mine
I continue to drive, catch my eyes up in the rearview
As I whisper through tears that I'm fine

And that snow, it still falls, but the weight I can shoulder
And it’s never too much, cause you’re mine
I continue to drive, the horizon it’s a clear view
As the sun meets the moon just in time

Credits:

Sara MacDonald- vocals, vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar
Jordy Walker- electric guitar, bass, drums, synth

Recorded, Produced and Mixed by Jordy Walker at Stackwall Sound,  Whitehorse, YT
Mastered by Philip Shaw Bova at Bova Lab Studio, Ottawa, ON

All songs Copyright the august arrival, SOCAN, 2024 © all rights reserved

Whisper

Lyrics:
And you ask me if I want to stay
But I’m too damn tired to think of walking away
And I’m saying, I hope loud and clear
I feel I’ve lost from my heart what’s dear…

Dear, Dear, Dear, Dear…

And I’m not sure where this is coming from
Words unsaid, songs unsung
And now it’s lifting with each word I say
Each falling note helps to wash away…

Wash away, wash away, wash away…

Credits:
Sara MacDonald- vocals, acoustic guitar, synth
Jordy Walker- electric guitar, bass, piano, vocal harmonies
Tara Martin- drums
Odette Burns- vocal harmonies
Darcy McCord- cello

Recorded, Produced and Mixed by Jordy Walker at Stackwall Sound,  Whitehorse, YT
Mastered by Philip Shaw Bova at Bova Lab Studio, Ottawa, ON

All songs Copyright the august arrival, SOCAN, 2024 © all rights reserved

Lifting Again

Lyrics:

I defy all the laws
I’ve been to all the places
I have kissed the morning stars
I’ve beat the wind in races

It wasn’t sudden but suddenly
There’s no familiar faces
And all the runways I would land
Have all but left their traces

Cause I’m the last known bird
I know no borders
And it’s all so clear
Oh, my world was such a wonder

I’m the last know bird
I sing through the thunder
As I call across the storm
Searching for another

I admit I often took
The sky-life for granted
Did I chose or fail to look
As the feathers vanished

And now the last known bird
Catches my eye in its corner
And it’s oh so clear
Oh, the world was such a wonder

And now the last known bird
Sings through the thunder
As he calls across the storm
Searching for another

But maybe tonight,
If not tomorrow
We’ll have to wait and see

Credits:
Sara MacDonald- acoustic guitar, vocals, vocal harmonies
Jordy Walker- electric guitar, bass, accordion, piano, synth
Tara Martin- drums
Darcy McCord- cello

Recorded, Produced and Mixed by Jordy Walker at Stackwall Sound,  Whitehorse, YT
Mastered by Philip Shaw Bova at Bova Lab Studio, Ottawa, ON

All songs Copyright the august arrival, SOCAN, 2024 © all rights reserved

Last Known Bird

Lyrics:

You’re never quite honest, You’d try but you can’t
Contain all the stories, the thoughts you’d recant

They litter your papers, they’re tattooed in pen
They’re all your confessions
Of ifs and of whens

So let it go
Let it go
Let it go
Oh Let it go

It’s not what you pictured, you’re not who you knew
Could all of that’s expected
Be getting to you

You’re stuck in the stable, tied to a fence
With only your daydreams
As your defense

So let it go

Let it go

Let it go

Oh Let it go

​And why do you still cling to all the wreckage- you’re on the shore?
Are you afraid that by letting go, you’ll want it all the more?
Those starry nights, that gentle breeze- then the crashing waves, the rain
But only once those hands are free can you rebuild again?

So let it go…

Credits:

Sara MacDonald- vocals, vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar, organ, piano
Jordy Walker- electric guitar, bass, drums, vocal harmonies, synth

Recorded, Produced and Mixed by Jordy Walker at Stackwall Sound,  Whitehorse, YT
Mastered by Philip Shaw Bova at Bova Lab Studio, Ottawa, ON

All songs Copyright the august arrival, SOCAN, 2024 © all rights reserved

Let It Go

Lyrics:

If all your roads are snowy highways,
Ten feet to your beam
If all their twists and all their turns,
Are too unforeseen

Then go on- keep driving
It's not gone from you, just hidden away
Your stars they always shine in alignment
Illuminating better days

If all your signs are stops and yields,
It's never green
If all their lights they're barely flashing
No vacancy

Then go on- keep driving
It's not gone from you, just hidden away
Your stars they always shine in alignment
Illuminating better days

And I would never ask you more than you offered- it's some code
But in my dreams we're alive and well
It's all fields and open roads

So go on- keep driving
It's not gone from you, just hidden away
Your stars they always shine in alignment
Illuminating better days

Credits:

Sara MacDonald- vocals, vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar
Jordy Walker- electric guitar, bass, additional drums, vocal harmonies
Tara Martin- drums

Recorded, Produced and Mixed by Jordy Walker at Stackwall Sound,  Whitehorse, YT
Mastered by Philip Shaw Bova at Bova Lab Studio, Ottawa, ON

All songs Copyright the august arrival, SOCAN, 2024 © all rights reserved

Keep Driving

Lyrics:

How was I to find
My way out of this maze
When every step if felt mistaken

And how was I to find
The sun through all this haze
When, oh, the battle’d left me shaken
​
Counting down ‘til a time when I am settled in the ground
Wrapped in roots that surround
All my memories
Both fleeting and forever they are bound
They are bathed in a sound

And all these spins don't lie
It's birds in V
It's rings in trees; the lines that frame my eyes

And oh misuse of time
Careless to the cadence
And the hum of the design

Counting down ‘til a time when I am settled in the ground
Wrapped in roots that surround
All my memories
Both fleeting and forever they are bound
They are bathed in a sound

Counting down ‘til the time when I am ashes cast around
Seek the space that surrounds
All my memories both fleeting and forever
They’re unwound; dislocate from the ground

And I will spend all my time
Trying to figure out your different mind
But I’m never quite there

And oh, the highs are highs,
The lows they're low, there’s always so much more to go
And I’m never quite there
I’m never quite there

There

Credit:

Sara MacDonald- vocals, vocal harmonies, organ, electric guitar
Jordy Walker- acoustic and electric guitar, bass, additional drums, omni chord, synth
Tara Martin: drums
Odette Burns: vocal harmonies

Recorded, Produced and Mixed by Jordy Walker at Stackwall Sound in Whitehorse, YT
Mastered by Philip Shaw Bova at Bova Lab Studio, Ottawa, ON

All songs Copyright the august arrival, SOCAN, 2024 © all rights reserved

Fleeting And Forever

Lyrics:

We never get there quickly,
But we do at certain points
With a look that sees right through me
And never disappoints

And I’d have hoped that I’d have kicked you
But you’re camped out in my mind
And the wood that fuels the fire
Seems to burn for all of time

And I don't know why
I don’t know why

And I worry that you’ll catch me on a day that I am sharp
Sometimes it takes some filing just to get down to the heart;
Of all that matters really, is nothing, and it all,
Just comes down to a willingness to stand up when you fall

And I don’t know why
I don’t know why
I don’t know why

​You’re my restless nights, I’m wide awake
You’re the conjure of some wild escape
If you’re the rocks, I’m the moon, we’re the tide

And my mind it is a wrecking ball, and this rain seems not to never fall
Let me hide in the site where you reside
Let me hide out in the site where you reside

And maybe I don’t know why…

Credits:

Sara MacDonald- Vocals, harmonies, acoustic guitar
Jordy Walker- Electric guitar, bass, drums, synth, vocal harmonies

Recorded, Produced and Mixed by Jordy Walker at Stackwall Sound in Whitehorse, YT
Mastered by Philip Shaw Bova at Bova Lab Studio, Ottawa, ON

All songs Copyright the august arrival, SOCAN, 2024 © all rights reserved

Camped Out

"Camped Out" explores the depths of overthinking and obsessing. With its raw sound and introspective lyrics, it takes listeners on a journey through a busy mental landscape, reflecting how thoughts can consume us. Inspired by a podcast about neurotherapy to overcome an ex-partner, the song captures the turmoil of preoccupation while acknowledging the comfort in fixations. It speaks to the universal experience of overthinking, making it a compelling anthem for anyone navigating their own mind's complexities.

This music was made on the traditional territory of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council (Whitehorse). It was recorded at Jordy Walker's beautiful backyard studio, Stackwall Sound. Both Jordy Walker and his space provide a warm refuge during the cold Yukon winters.

Lyrics:

We never get there quickly,
But we do at certain points
With a look that sees right through me
And never disappoints

And I’d have hoped that I’d have kicked you
But you’re camped out in my mind
And the wood that fuels the fire
Seems to burn for all of time

And I don't know why
I don’t know why

And I worry that you’ll catch me on a day that I am sharp
Sometimes it takes some filing just to get down to the heart;
Of all that matters really, is nothing, and it all,
Just comes down to a willingness to stand up when you fall

And I don’t know why
I don’t know why

You’re my restless nights, I’m wide awake
You’re the conjure of some wild escape
If you’re the rocks, I’m the moon, we’re the tide

And my mind it is a wrecking ball, and this rain seems not to never fall
Let me hide in the site where you reside
Let me hide out in the site where you reside

And I don’t know why
Maybe I don't know why
I don't know why
Maybe I don't know why...
credits

Credits:

Released July 26, 2024

Sara MacDonald- Vocals, harmonies, acoustic guitar
Jordy Walker- Electric guitar, bass, drums, synth

Recorded, Produced and Mixed by Jordy Walker at Stackwall Sound

Mastered by Philip Shaw Bova at Bova Lab Studio

Lyrics, music and single art- Sara MacDonald

This recording was made possible thanks to the support of the Yukon Government.

I would tell a thousand lies, 
If it meant I could keep you
In the whites of all I’d say,
Is where I’d go to meet you

But all of what is good in me,
Knows it’s too complicated
And all the time that it would take,
Would just be misdirected

But oh, don’t be confused,
It’s not like, we’re above the rules
But sometimes I find,
I’m willing to pay the price, take the fine

What would it take for me,
To get you to stop?
I’d carry it with you,
The weight of the clock

But oh don’t be confused
It’s not like life’s a game you lose
But sometimes I find,
I’m measuring my worth to pass the time

Time….

The Weight Of The Clock

Sara MacDonald is the song-writing force behind the Yukon band “the august arrival.”  The august arrival will resonate deeply with fans of intimate indie folk-rock. The music’s driving melodies, poetic lyricism and atmospheric instrumentation intertwine and create an emotionally charged journey that lingers with listeners long after the final notes fade away. moments.

Stripped down to their acoustic upbringings, her songs are intimate; with haunting melodies and vocal performances that cause one to wonder if they should feel guilty for eavesdropping on a reflective private moment.

the august arrival

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