song of the day: march 11/2011

James Vincent McMorrow - Like The River (Sun Kil Moon Cover)
Album: Unknown [2010]

first off, this is a cover of sun kil moon's "like the river", from 2008's "april". in anticipation for mark kozelek's upcoming two-night stint in southwestern ontario, i'll be posting some random tunes that involve his work in the coming days. the lyrics are perfect. here they are:

they floated downstream like swans in the sun

surrounded by friends and lovers

we watched on with smiles beaming so bright

the river behind them, the fading daylight

i knew her back from when she was young

those days poured out faster than rounds from a gun

scattered like shells and lost to the sea

like the river, the days move rapidly

i have all these memories, i don't know what for

i have them and i can't help it

some overflow and spill out like waves

some i will harbour for all of my days

i burned liked wood, you grew like a flower

rising toward your magical hour

i was not yours and you were not mine

our true love finds us when it is time

we drove back downtown, wasted and spent

down highways that i remember

happy for her and happy for me

the old times and the new to uncover

i laid down my head, in love with the night

with my new love beside me, her radiant light

i faded away, along with my thoughts

like a dream and i trail off mystically

secondly, some words about james vincent mcmorrow. this irish singer/songwriter didn't begin his musical life until he was well into his teens. initially a drummer, he was drawn to the harsher sounds of at the drive-in refused, and glassjaw. he mellowed some while at college, where he discovered the more acoustic-oriented sounds of sufjan stevens and band of horses (sounds like me!!). he picked up a guitar at 19 and began writing songs and digging into the music of the 1970s singer/songwriter era, particularly from female artists because of the pitch of his own voice. he decided to record an album and moved into a small house on Ireland's coastline and holed up with his guitar, a keyboard, a microphone, a computer, and several other instruments. he wrote and cut what would eventually become his debut self-titled EP, and his first album, 2010's "early in the morning".

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