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t e x t
Lyrics
'unfurl'
- 08, Dec. 2017.
'I come from true north, Boreal lands, that are furious. I'm born, I breath, I grow; I am felled, I am hauled to a home. A site that's so wonderful, That I begin to unfurl. A site that's so wonderful, That I begin to unfurl. In this room, I am more than a tree; Your memories, they hang out of me. No leaves, but needle hands reaching, For gentle brush of healing. A site that's so wonderful, That I begin to unfurl. A site that's so wonderful, That I begin to unfurl. With lights, you bind me; Eyes and ears attuned; With a star, you crown me, as I heal a year's wounds. A site that's so wonderful, That I begin to unfurl. A site that's so wonderful, That I begin to unfurl [...]'
Notes: 'Unfurl is the 5th annual (4th original) Waiting Space Christmas release - part of what's become an annual tradition to try and present an 'alternative Christmas song' each year. Last year's 'Breathe' was focused on how December is the last exhale of a tumultuous year, and inhale before leaping headfirst into a new year. This year, with Unfurl, I've turned my attention to trying to the unpack the staple of the Christmas tree. In the company, but far from the level of songs such as 'O Tannenbaum'/'O Christmas Tree', 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree' - with Unfurl, I've tried to draw inspiration from some of the more poetically-licensed, and cinematic imagery that a tree can humbly conjure... A subtext to the song also subtly alludes, in a personal way, to the recent passing of my grandfather - a family tree - who we were blessed to have had a chance to gather around together as a family, before his passing.
Stream / Download 'Unfurl' on:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1CLXaPvDanMxq5RgGXqxOSApple Music: https://itunes.apple.com/ie/album/unfurl-single/1318852624iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ie/album/unfurl-single/1318852624GooglePlay: https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Waiting_Space_Unfurl?id=Behdo7khom23g5y7k2q4gp33dci&hl=enSoundcloud (Single Version): https://soundcloud.com/chrisfalconer/waiting-space-unfurlSoundcloud (Instrumental Version): https://soundcloud.com/chrisfalconer/waiting-space-unfurl-instrumental-versionEverywhere else: just search...
Previous Waiting Space 'winter releases' include:
2016 - 'Breathe': https://youtu.be/nk5KMy3ouvM
2015 - 'Warmer': https://youtu.be/ElYGLfMz6Ck
2014 - 'Borrowed Memories': https://youtu.be/OXgBAJQdkac
2013 - 'A Spaceman Came Travelling' (cover of Chris de Burgh): https://youtu.be/J_cXDrTlZz8
'breathe'
- Dec. 2016.
'Staring at this clock, we look, for comfort, Do these hands have Midas’ touch, To carry away the present furies, And breaking up this winter hush. The universe expands, time moves faster, The earth has a fever, my chest, it gets tighter... So I: Breathe in, breathe out, Year in, year out; Breathe in, breathe out, Year in, year out. Towards the new year we seem to rush, As we take the hands of infant months, A dim to drown out echoes, From all the years that we've let go, Of our ghosts. Breathe in, breathe out, Year in, year out; Breathe in, breathe out, Year in, year out; Breathe in, breathe out, Year in, year out; Breathe in, breathe out, Year in, year out.'
Notes: 'Breathe' is the Waiting Space 'winter release' for 2016 - and available for free download, and streaming, on SoundCloud, at: https://soundcloud.com/chrisfalconer/breathe, and video at https://youtu.be/nk5KMy3ouvM. 'Breathe' looks at some of the psychology behind 'the new year'; while reflecting on a personal level, how a lung condition has affected my past year.
Previous Waiting Space 'winter releases' include:
2015 - 'Warmer': https://youtu.be/ElYGLfMz6Ck
2014 - 'Borrowed Memories': https://youtu.be/OXgBAJQdkac
2013 - 'A Spaceman Came Travelling' (cover of Chris de Burgh): https://youtu.be/J_cXDrTlZz8
'Warmer'
- Dec. 2015. 'As the frost sets in, it takes hold of autumn, But all year we have kept our distance. Trees rise in houses all around, and you'll be travelling home, in this instant Oh, don't be, so cold; You will turn to snow. Oh, don't be, so cold; I hope, I hope: This winter, you will be warmer, I hope I hope. This winter, you will be warmer, I hope I hope. In this fog I reach out shaking hands. Oh God, how much I've missed it. But the snow pulls branches to the ground; Just like the weight, on the way we left this. This winter, you will be warmer. This winter, you will be warmer. This winter, you will be warmer, I hope I hope. This winter, you will be warmer, I hope I hope. This winter, you will be warmer, I hope I hope [...]'
Notes: 'Warmer' is the Waiting Space 'winter release' for 2015-2016 - and available for free download, and streaming, on SoundCloud, at: https://soundcloud.com/chrisfalconer/warmer, and video at https://youtu.be/ElYGLfMz6Ck.
Footage filmed by Waiting Space, in Iceland, October, 2015 - at various locations, over two weeks; on a journey through 'Route 1'.
'Warmer' is also the fourth, of an ongoing twelve song and film collection, in a series under the title 'Genius Loci', by Waiting Space. The twelve audio/visual pieces will focus on the themes of spirit of place; the sense of the individual in the crowd; mobility and travel; and the diaspora.
Previous Waiting Space 'winter releases' include:
2014 - 'Borrowed Memories' (original): https://youtu.be/OXgBAJQdkac
2013 - 'A Spaceman Came Travelling' (cover of Chris de Burgh): https://youtu.be/J_cXDrTlZz8
'genius loci'
- March-July 2015. 'Don't get me started, 'cause if I do, I'll never finish - and we'll be right back where we began. We fall into cities - in search of place and meanings. Planes, like Icarus' wings, take me from the ground. I am just one body, walking the veins of the cities - hoping there's someone out there, wondering where I should be. I am just one body, walking the veins of the cities - hoping there's someone out there, wondering where I should be. To move the furthest, we drive on roads of lights, and dashes. In these lanes we line up our hopes. With tears from farewells, we make our own oceans. As sea shores reach out harbour arms. I am just one body, walking the veins of the cities - hoping there's someone out there, wondering where I should be. I am just one body, walking the veins of the cities - hoping there's someone out there, wondering where I should be. To swell with confidence, but feel so small. To love, and to be adored. To swell with confidence, but feel so small. To love, and to be adored. (Don't get me started, 'cause if I do, I'll never finish - and we'll be right back where we began) I am just one body, walking the veins of the cities - hoping there's someone out there, wondering where I should be. (Don't get me started, 'cause if I do, I'll never finish - and we'll be right back where we began) I am just one body, walking the veins of the cities - hoping there's someone out there, wondering where I should be.'
Notes: Free download of audio from: https://soundcloud.com/chrisfalconer/genius-loci, and video at https://youtu.be/Lt49QOB2INc.
In the past few months, as my Waiting Space project continued to evolve - I reached the decision to produce a twelve-piece series of songs/audio and films/shorts, into a collection titled 'Genius Loci' (under which this single-release of the same name, lies). 'Genius Loci' is a Latin phrase loosely referencing the prevailing character or atmosphere of a place, or the presiding god or spirit of a place. Extending from this, the twelve pieces will focus on the themes of spirit of place; the sense of the individual in the crowd; mobility and travel; and the diaspora.
The single-release 'Genius Loci' is the third film/audio in the series of the same name. To offer it an abridged-description: the piece focuses on the vacuum of travelling in search of a 'something', or je-ne-sais-quoi that can take a hold of the wanderlusting individual, or indeed enforced emigrant; how those dislocated experiences may feel; and the difficulty to stop, once they have started. It is biographically-inspired by a number of friends and loved ones who have, and continue to emigrate - particularly in recent years in Ireland - particularly close to my peer-group as a late-twenty-year-old.
'borrowed memories'
- November-December, 2014. 'Thank God for whoever planted all the evergreens - When you're not here, I still have them to see. The site of smiling faces in the streets - Bring memories of nights with you next me. Angels and candles, they need a home too. This time of year, they find it. But I... I always found my home with you. Cold winter nights are made for you next to me - with nothing but flashing lights for us to see. There's rain outside, so we'll borrow memories... of white mornings from films on the TV. Angels and candles, they need a home too. This time of year, they find it. But I... I always found my home with you. Those days. Those nights. Those winters - by my side. Red and green floods the streets. No need to move - being here with you, is all I could need. And, with that, a simple truth remains. With all of these, what use have I for borrowed memories? Angels and candles, they need a home too. This time of year, they find it. But I... I always found my home with you.'
Notes: Free download/stream available at: https://soundcloud.com/chrisfalconer/borrowed-memories, and video at .
The term 'Borrowed Memories' (in this context), refers to the quest to find a happy medium between your own experiences of Christmas, and the overblown promises of Christmases on tv, and in film, and literature. The imagined memories that they can offer can definitely feed the celebrations of the season - but it might also be important not to forget the importance of original experience, and the true happenings with those you love around you. Writing a Christmas song also comes with a certain level of freedom, in that you can be forgiven for being a cheesier lyricist than usual...