Summer Birds will be the opening track of ‘Trash My Heart’ the new EP I have coming out in May. I have been singing this song for years, re-thinking it, re-shaping and arranging it again and again. When I first wrote it back in 2010, it was minimal. I didn’t really understand the music of the 50s, I was just making a musical sandcastle out of ideas that I had about the 50s based in movies I’d seen and my dad’s old records. Luckily, I always knew the song wasn’t ready- so I never recorded it.
In 2012 I began singing as a trio with Rebecca and Charity. After only a few weeks of singing together I knew I had finally found a place for Summer Birds. Their sweet voices and the tight precision of their harmonies took my little melody from an imitation of the vague 50s, to a dance with Americana techniques that had whimsy and drama and a spirit of its own.
Recording this song with Jordan was an education. There were so many directions the arrangement could veer towards! Jordan has an encyclopedic knowledge of great recordings and we found ourselves scouring old records for clarity and inspiration. We were listening to Django Reinhardt, The Everly Brothers, Dave Brubeck, and even Chuck Berry. When I decided I needed piano in the arrangement I instantly thought of “Crazy” by Patsy Cline – one of my favorite songs, and in my opinion, a perfect arrangement. So, perhaps you will recognize my homage to that classic piano riff when you hear our Summer Birds recording.
The song itself was written when I was in college. I was single at the time- still recovering from a heart break- a relationship that had ended more than a year ago. Time kept passing, seasons kept changing, and STILL I ached and moped and wondered if I would ever feel fully alive again. The prolonged grief did make me notice how much more bearable the sadness was in the bright shining summer, and how the grey winter days became a horrible inescapable metaphor for my listlessness.
lyrics
Baby Baby we fell in love in the spring time
Summer sun was up above, we were in heaven
What a wonderful season, every day spent with you
When the summer sun it faded away
So did your love for me, I begged you to stay
Though I knew you never would
I could see in your eye- you were gone for good
Chorus: Now all I want is summer birds once again at my window
Summer birds, helping my heart sing
Summer birds, helping me come around
Summer birds help me come around
In the summer I could get over you
I’d start to laugh again and find someone new
But since its winter now I’m alone and aloof
And I just don’t know what to do
Chorus
BRIDGE: The sky now, so ugly and grey, I can’t imagine better days
I know that this winter will pass, I just hope I’ll last
Chorus
On “Meet Me By the River,” Dawn Landes’s self-described “Nashville record,” buoyant country melodies settle deep into lush instrumentation. Bandcamp New & Notable May 7, 2018
This New Haven duo write bright and emotionally resonant folk music where sweeping strings elevate gorgeous melodies. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 23, 2021
Edd Donovan's day job as a social worker brings a sense of empathy to his elegantly constructed political folk music. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 26, 2019