about
The idea came from sitting on a wooden park bench. It was full of carved messages touting love and hope, like a guide map to show how to get from where the “authors” of the messages were, to where they wanted to be. As I sat there I wondered how many of the authors remembered what they had written, and whether their dreams and hopes were eventually realized as they had “mapped it” out. Or do we all have to eventually settle for less – not just for ourselves, but for the world? This doubt about oneself and one’s place is often a catalyst for turning to religion, philosophy, various forms of addictions, or even giving up. But these issues aren’t supernatural or unthinkable – they are human ones, with humans behind each decision. Humanity is not some behemoth, but you, I, and every one of us put together. And that’s something that is here, tangible, in front of us. When you accept that everything of importance is right here, and that we are intrinsically part of it – there’s a certain calm that sets in. I think it’s important to remember this starting point. This song has the most chords in any of the songs I’ve written, and was the last song to be written for this album. The vocal talents of Andrea Schneider are indispensable in bringing out the feeling of the song, as is the melodeon line played by Miles Waghray. The direction of the song was largely born out of late night jams with Miles.
lyrics
And so we go to sleep
with those wary boasts
that we, we were the ones
destined to see it through
its threads on spirals and cleats
spark the flints inside
as wake to sheets and blankets and summer lights
bright, brighter becomes our dreams of weather
as close, closer they come we string together
that I don't need more words to save my life
i don’t need no thoughts
no doubts
no lies
cuz it's so far from being here.
Cuz as I grip these thoughts
these sights
these moments of my own
I turn, revived
Cuz it's all that I need is here
the Words pierced in this bench
with so many hopes
that show, and shows you the way
with parcels and polaroids
and though, its license believes
We've already gone
as we, we call the parts as trinkets and lullabies
Bright, brighter becomes our dreams of weather
As close, closer they come we string together
That I don't need more words to save my life
I don’t need no thoughts
no doubts
no lies
cuz it's so far from being here.
Cuz as I grip these thoughts
these sights
these moments of my own
I turn, revived
Cuz it's all that I need is here.
credits
from
Parcels & Polaroids,
released February 10, 2011
Written and Performed by The Pawnshop Manual, with Backup Vocals by Andrea Schneider, Bass & Melodica by Miles Waghray
Artwork and Design by Eric Anderson (
www.chromoschema.com)
license