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1. |
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Oh Hannah, why do you weep
Why do you look so sad, why don’t you eat
Oh Hannah, why do you weep
Am I not more to you than a thousand sons
Oh Hannah, why do you weep
Why do you look so sad, why don’t you smile
Oh Hannah, why do you weep
Am I not more to you than a craving heart
Oh Hannah, why do you weep
Why do you look so sad, why don’t you smile
Oh Hannah, why do you weep
Am I not more to you than a thousand sons
Oh Hannah, why do you weep
Why do you look so sad, why don’t you eat
Oh Hannah, why do you weep
Am I not more to you than a craving heart
But I am blind, I am a son of Eli
No words to confess my sadness in whispers divine
No mercy, no future for me
My bloodline is dry
I’m a son of Eli
Oh Hannah, why do you weep
Don’t let your sorrows cover your soul with a darkness that deep
Oh Hannah, your prayer has been heard
Your joy will return in great splendor
The speechless will sing
And the hopeless will shine
Oh Hannah, why don’t you smile
Why don’t you smile
Born in 1951, gone by 2014
He leaves behind
A brother, a sister, a wife and a child
Friends and memories
He didn’t cry, a man of faith
Therefore he lived awaiting to die
He loved Jesus Christ but religion he despised
He lived in bright daylight
Had compassion for those kneeling in bleakness
He never was much of a dreamer
But a lighthouse for so many others
He left me with nothing
No words, no direction to set myself in
But he gave me everything I’ve ever needed
As far as the sun...
Taught me to feed a spirit of my own
To carry my voice beyond morning views
And to leave the past behind
My father
Windows in the sky
And forever he lives now
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2. |
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I just don’t know how it feels anymore
Life’s drifting in time divided
Empire’s falling in kingdom’s rust
In echoes I won’t hear when the night is over
The beginning, the beginning is the end
The beginning, the beginning is the end
The beginning
There’s no refuge for hopelessness
No science for broken-hearted frills
No ornaments, no light, no light bright enough
To cover the darkness of our faithless thrills, no
The beginning, the beginning is the end
The beginning, the beginning is the end
The beginning
The pain that bonds it all together
The beginning, as we lose, the colors, as we faint
The bloodline, the bloodline turned specter
Turned specter as we end
The anguish of unknown, unfolded grief
The beginning, the beginning is the end
The beginning, the beginning is the end
The beginning
I don’t know how to cover the rues at my feet
Mercy’s hidden like a lonesome treasure
And sorrow’s evil, sorrow’s evil
But when it’s all you’ve got
It’s a dear friend holding your crestfallen woes
The beginning, the beginning is the end
The beginning, the beginning is the end
The beginning, the beginning is the end
The edge may cover the words of disruption
Its youthful dream, its youthful dream
May fool you into believing
That the voices you hear, you hear, you hear
May come from heaven and beyond
But static is the noise
Whispering in your ears
Static is the noise
Whispering in your ears
The devil may cry and the angels may sing
Oh, static is the noise, static is the noise
As far as the sun, as bright as the sky
Static is the noise
The pain that bonds it all together
The beginning, as we lose, the colors as we faint
The bloodline, the bloodline turned specter
Turned specter as we end
The anguish of unknown, unfolded grief
The beginning, the beginning is the end
The beginning, the beginning is the end
The beginning
The beginning
The static you hear
The static
A man is falling, falling, falling on his knees
A man is falling, falling, falling on his knees
A man is falling, falling, falling on his knees
A man is falling, falling, falling on his knees
A man is falling, falling, falling, falling, falling on his knees
On his knees
The beginning is the end
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3. |
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So I heard another winter’s coming
It might be hard to believe, looking back at it now
As if my world lost its senses so many, many years ago
Like old wooden horses turning through childhood memories
But pure laughter doesn’t come that easy anymore
As we keep turning around, looking for places to land our long saddened days
Have I lost, have I lost my senses?
May we be saints, may we be whores or just like a little bit of both, like much of everything else
I guess in the end, it’s not that much about the truth
But how good we became at turning late night illusions into a bright morning view
It’s never that easy I suppose, to kneel down with a smile
When we kept denying our souls from the magic shining through
Have I lost?
Have I lost my senses?
Have I lost?
Have I lost my senses?
I don’t know?
Have I lost?
Have I lost everything?
Have I lost?
Have I lost?
Our winter’s coming in
Our winter’s coming in, I heard
Our winter’s coming in
Our winter’s coming in
I wish I could say it’s looking at the sun that I’ve lost all sight of hopeful colors
That I’ve turned blind to others, others’ hearts beating their breezes and gentle kisses
And I’m laying down, my shoulders stroked, and I’m crumbling on dirty ground,
I’m tired and weary, I’m tired
If only I could stop
If only I could stop the overflowing mournful sand from falling from my hourglass eyes
I swear, I would
My darkened ruins, into a brand new let go filled with wonders
With wonders, with wonders, with wonders
Have I lost my senses?
I don’t know
Have I lost, have I lost, have I lost my senses?
Have I lost?
Our winter’s coming in
Our winter’s coming in, I heard
Our winter’s coming in
Our winter’s coming in
Our winter’s coming in, I heard
Our winter’s coming in
Our winter’s coming in
Have I lost my senses?
Have I lost my senses?
If only I could stop for just one second
I would kneel down at your feet, kneel down at your feet
If only I could stop for just one second
I swear I would tell you everything
I would tell you everything I kept inside for so long
Have I lost my senses?
Have I lost my senses?
I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know
If only I could stop for just one second
I swear, I swear
If only I could stop for just one second
If only I could stop for one, just one second
If only I could stop for just one second
I would tell you, I would tell you everything
I would tell you everything
I don’t care anymore
I’ve lost everything
Goodbye youthful shivers, goodbye
Goodbye youthful shivers, goodbye
Majestic halo, my dazzling twilight
Goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye youthful shivers, goodbye
Goodbye youthful shivers, goodbye
Majestic halo, my dazzling twilight
Goodbye, goodbye
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4. |
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The burden of life is love, love
The burden of life is love
Love, love
But we carry the weight wearily and so must rest in the arms of love
We must carry the weight
(The weight of the world
is love.
Under the burden
of solitude,
under the burden
of dissatisfaction
the weight,
the weight we carry
is love.
but we carry the weight
wearily,
and so must rest
in the arms of love
at last,
must rest in the arms
of love.
No rest
without love,
no sleep
without dreams
of love--
The warm bodies
shine together
in the darkness,
the hand moves
to the center
of the flesh,
the skin trembles
in happiness
and the soul comes
joyful to the eye--
yes, yes,
that's what
I wanted,
I always wanted,
I always wanted,
to return
to the body
where I was born.)
We all wish to find a place
To go back as a friend
To hear our names from the high-wave stand
We all wish to find a place
Easy to let go
We all wish to find a place
To go back as a lover
We stir and swirl, we kneel and hope, we cry and pray
Easy to follow
ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
We all wish to find a place
To go back as a lover
To feel the tide from our high-wave stand
We all wish to find a place
In the shadows between the lights
In the shadows of our evening tides
I never learned how to swim
Like water in my hands, on your lips
ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
In the shadows of our evening tides
In the shadows between the lights
In the shadows of our evening tides
In the shadows between the lights
In the shadows of our evening tides
In the shadows between the lights
In the shadows of our evening tides
In the shadows between the lights
Between the lights
Between the lights
Between the lights
We carry the weight
We carry the weight of love
We must carry the weight
We must carry the weight
We must carry the weight
It’s too heavy, it’s too heavy, it’s too heavy
Without love
But it’s too heavy, it’s too heavy, it’s too heavy
Without love
There’s no rest without love
There’s no sleep without love
There’s no peace without love
There’s no comfort, no alibi
Without peace, oh
Without love, oh
Without love, no
Without love, oh
There’s no rest, there’s no peace without love
There’s no rest, there’s no peace without love
There’s no rest, there’s no peace without love
There’s no rest, there’s no peace without love
It’s so heavy, it’s so heavy
It’s so heavy to carry the weight of love
The weight of love
It’s so heavy
Love
It’s so heavy without love, heavy
It’s so heavy without love
Oh, brothers, sisters, and lovers, and friends, we must let go
Oh, brothers, sisters, and lovers, and friends, we must let go
Oh, brothers, sisters, and lovers, and friends, we must let go
It’s so heavy without love
It’s so heavy without love
Oh, brothers, sisters, and lovers, and friends, we must let go
Oh, brothers, sisters, and lovers, and friends, we must let go
Oh, we must let go
Oh, brothers, sisters, and lovers, and friends, we must let go
Oh, brothers, sisters, and lovers, and friends, we must let go
Oh, brothers, sisters, and lovers, and friends, we must let go
We must let go
We must let go
We must let go
We must let go
Oh, love, love, love
Oh, love, love, love
Oh, love, love, love
Oh, love, love, love
Oh, brothers, sisters, and lovers, and friends, we must let go
Oh, brothers, sisters, and lovers, and friends
We must let go, let go
We must let go
Oh, love, love, love
Oh, love, love, love
We must let go
Oh, love, love, love
We must let go
Oh, love, love, love
There’s no rest without love, no peace without love
No rest without love, no peace without love
No rest without love, no peace without love
Oh, brothers, sisters, and lovers, and friends, we must let go
In the arms of love
In the arms of love
Oh, we must let go in the arms of love
Oh, we must let go in the arms of love
Oh, we must let go in the arms of love
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5. |
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A gun has been fired, echoes from the mountain can’t lie
The hunters, the hunters have been tracking their preys from early morning, the hunters
The snow is still flickering through the cold breezing sky
The blood on the ground is disappearing underneath
The hunter is coming
December’s falling down and time suddenly seems too numb to care
I never thought it could be that cold here
The hunter is coming, the hunter is coming for me, the hunter, the hunter
Another footstep away from you, lost in long-distance storms
My long view’s blurry by slow streaming cast and tones
The hunter is coming
My heart’s howling for spring, for memories to revive
But high hopes never bloom from our saddened demise
The hunter is coming
The hunter, the hunter is coming
He’s coming for me
The prey is laying down in the freezing evening cold
Wounded by the very same hands that used to feed his land
The winter
The air so sweet and soft, it’s almost perfume, over its body, broken, broken, broken
Horizon’s never been that magnificent, that vivid and free
But freedom has a color, a color that I just can’t see, no
The hunter is coming
The men, tired of their ceremonial walk over, walk over the hill
Standing witnesses, life leaving traces of a dream now fading into the night
And I’m breathing in, and I’m breathing out, breathing in
The hunter is coming
Another footstep away from you, I’m lost in distant storms
Another footstep away
My long view’s blurry by snow streaming cast and tones
Seaside never felt that far, never felt that unreachable
My heart’s howling, my heart’s howling for spring, for memories to revive
The hunter is coming
But high hopes never bloom
The hunter is coming
The hunter is coming
The hunter is coming
The hunter is coming
Coming for me
I never thought it could be that cold here
The winter is coming, the winter is coming, the hunter is coming
Forgiveness is a gift, much like love carries you away, away
We’re kneeling our last breath away
And I’m breathing in, and I’m breathing out
The hunter is coming
As we stand under a crystal curtain of dazzling gold
Beholding a last image of youthful faith
The hunter is coming
The hunter is coming
The hunter is coming
Forgiveness is a gift, much like love carries you away, away, away, away
The hunter is coming
The hunter is coming
The hunter is coming
The hunter, the hunter, the hunter, the hunter is coming
He’s coming for me
He’s coming, he’s coming, he’s coming, he’s coming for me
He’s coming for me
The hunter, the hunter, the hunter is coming for me
He’s coming for me
Forgiveness is a gift, much like love carries you away, away
One step away from you
Don’t wait for me, I won’t be back this time, won’t come home tonight
I’ve closed my eyes in peaceful glimpses of pure white sky, I’ve closed my eyes
I’ve closed my eyes in peaceful glimpses of pure white sky, I’ve closed my eyes
And I’m thinking of you, feeding the fire, feeding the fire
And I’ve closed my eyes
Don’t wait for me, I won’t be back this time, don’t wait for me
Don’t wait for me, I won’t come home tonight, don’t wait for me
And I’ve closed my eyes and I’m thinking about you
And I’ve closed my eyes and I’m thinking about you
Feeding the fire, feeding the fire, feeding the fire
Soft as the wind, bright as the sky
Soft as the wind, bright as the sky
And I’ve closed my eyes and I’m thinking about you
And I’ve closed my eyes and I’m thinking about you
You’re as soft as the wind, as bright as the sky
Don’t wait for me, I won’t be back this time, don’t wait for me
Don’t wait for me, I won’t come home tonight, don’t wait for me
I’ve closed my eyes and I’m thinking about you
You’re as soft as the wind, you’re as bright as the sky
You’re as soft as the wind, as bright as the sky
And I’ve closed my eyes
I’ve closed my eyes
Time is slowly disappearing
Time is slowly disappearing
Time is slowly disappearing
Time is slowly disappearing
Time is slowly disappearing
Time is slowly disappearing
Time is slowly disappearing
Time is slowly, time is slowly, time is slowly, time is slowly
The wound is deep
The wound is deep
The wound is deep
The wound is deep I can feel it in my flesh, in my flesh, in my flesh, in my flesh
The wound is deep I can feel it in my flesh
The wound is deep I can feel it in my flesh, in my flesh
His blood as witness
His blood as witness
The wound is deep I can feel it in my flesh
The wound is deep I can feel it in my flesh, in my bones, in my flesh, in my muscles and bones
His blood as my witness
The wound is deep I can feel it in my flesh
The wound is deep I can feel it in my flesh, in my bones, in my flesh, in my muscles and bones
His blood as my witness
His blood as my witness
His blood as my witness
His blood as my witness
You’re as soft as the wind, you’re as bright as the sky
I can feel your spirit
I can feel your spirit
I can feel your spirit
I can feel your spirit, your spirit, your spirit
I can feel your spirit
I can feel your spirit
I can feel your spirit
With his blood as my witness
Echoes from the mountain can’t lie
You’re as soft as the wind, you’re as bright as the sky
I can feel it in my soul
His blood as my witness
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6. |
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The visitors, waiting to feel the cold into the night
Covering their eyes before the man newly turned into a ghost
The view is foggy, and so are memories
The sound seems so distant, but the emotion is so vivid, so real
So real, always
A picture, a few words, a box, some ashes
True endings always find a way to be summarized
Turn life into a faint suitable piece of lonesome shine
We look around in disarray, the mirror’s bleak, nobody sees
So real, so real
Always, always, always
There will be time for you and I
For morning lights to lift us all
To go back into the lights
There will be time
There will be time, there will be time
There will be time, there will be time for you and I
There will be time, there will be time
There will be time, there will be time
There will be snowflakes in July
Strangers defining the rights from the wrongs
The place got colder as time passes by
Existence, like love, is never easy to comprehend
It comes and goes, a gift for some, a curse for others
Always, always, always
Always, always
There will be time for tears, pain, sorrows, and emptiness
In absence of answers, I kept everything inside
I wish I could have cried, could have felt something
But I stood in silence, lost into the dark, wide awake, blindfolded
So real
Always, always
Always, so real
Always, always
Always
There will be time for you and I
For morning lights to lift us all
To go back into the lights
There will be time
There will be time, there will be time
There will be time, there will be time
There will be time, there will be time for you and I
There will be time, there will be time
We pray and bow down
We pray and bow down
And recall all the joys we now hold onto
We pray and bow down
We pray and bow down
And recall all the joys we now hold onto
To feel alive
To feel alive
Always, so real, so real
Always, always, so real
We pray and bow down
We pray and bow down
We pray and bow down
We pray and bow down
Oh, the joys
Oh, the joys
Oh, the joys
Oh, the joys
Oh, the joys
Oh, the joys
Oh, the joys
Oh, the joys
We pray and bow down
We pray and bow down
We pray and bow down
For tears, pain, and sorrows
We pray and bow down
We pray and bow down
For tears, pain, and sorrows
We pray and bow down
We pray and bow down
The mirror’s bleak, nobody sees
The mirror’s bleak, nobody sees
The mirror’s bleak, nobody sees
The mirror’s bleak, nobody sees
The mirror’s bleak, nobody sees
The mirror, the mirror, the mirror, the mirror
The mirror, the mirror, the mirror, the mirror
The mirror, the mirror, the mirror, the mirror
The mirror’s bleak, nobody sees
The mirror’s bleak, nobody sees
The mirror’s bleak, nobody sees
Nobody sees
Nobody sees
Places, faces, moments and silence and screams
Places, faces, silence, moments and screams, and screams
Silence, faces, faces and places, and silence and screams
And silence and screams
Oh, places, faces, and silence, and silence, and silence, and silence and screams
To feel alive
To feel alive
To feel alive
When nobody sees, nobody sees
When nobody sees the tears, the pain, the sorrows
Nobody sees
The pain, the tears, the sorrows
Nobody sees
The tears, the pain, the sorrows
Nobody sees
We’re looking for places to lay down
We’re looking for places to lay down
We’re looking for places to lay down
We’re looking for places to lay down
We’re looking for places to lay down
We’re looking for places to lay down
For a friend, sometimes
For a friend, sometimes
For a friend, sometimes
For a friend, sometimes
For tears, pain, and sorrows
For tears, pain, and sorrows
For tears, pain, and sorrows
Nobody sees
Nobody sees
Nobody sees
We pray and bow down
We pray and bow down
For a friend, a place, some faces
A moment, some silence and screams
For a friend, faces and places, moments and screams, and screams
We pray and bow down
We pray and bow down
For a place, for a friend, for silence, silence and screams
Nobody sees
Nobody sees
Nobody sees
There will be time
There will be time
There will be time
There will be time
There will be time for joys
There will be time for places to lay down in peace
There will be time for you and I
For you and I
For you and I
For you and I
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7. |
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I’ve been covering my eyes, barely holding breath
Haven’t slept much, can’t figure how it goes down
The struggles, the damage, the faithless trials
It doesn’t change the way I feel about you now
Lost in the winds of summertime departures
I’ve seen you
Oh, I’ve seen you
I’ve seen the clouds bloom and disappear
Silences feeding their own masterful cheers
Uplifting praise beholding love, lifetime gold
Enough for me to count my every haven funerals
Lost in the winds of summertime departures
I’ve seen you
Alive and well
I’ve seen you
I’ve seen you
I’ve seen you
We’re all set to lose
One day or another
We’re all set to lose
Always
And I set stones on your sanctum shrine
Wrote down a few words so I could remember
I hate to say, but I told you
I told you
And I set stones on your sanctum shrine
Wrote down a few words so I could remember
Remember
Remember
Remember that it’s not your death that hurts the most
It’s the sadness that I kept growing between us
Drifting from places where I always felt stuck and in the way
Lost in the winds of summertime departures
And I hate to say, but I told you
So many times
So many times
One way or the other, we’re all set to lose
Always
Oh I see now
And I hate to say I told you so
So many times before
Oh I see now
And it’s not the fights, the fights we had
That kept me away from you
I’ve been sticking around, as long as I could
I’ve been sticking around, as long as I could
For you to decline my care, my invitations
The lantern’s tired, the fog’s still growing
Shadow’s howling, shadow’s howling
Waiting to take you away from me, to fly away, to fly away with you
And I’m tired, and I hate to say I told you
And I set stones on your sanctum shrine
Wrote down a few words so I could remember
That it’s not your death that hurts the most
It’s the sadness that I kept growing between us
Oh I see now
And I hate to say I told you so
So many times before
Oh I see now
And it’s not the fights, the fights we had
That kept me away from you
From you
From you
We’re all set to lose
Oh I see now
And I hate to say I told you so
So many times before
Oh I see now
That it’s not the fights, the fights we had
That kept me away from you
Sometimes I dream I can sail through the past
And let my teardrops fall in the ocean, in the ocean
Sometimes I dream I could sail through the past
And let my teardrops fall in the ocean, in the ocean
Sometimes I dream I could sail through the past
And let my teardrops fall at your feet, at your feet
Sometimes I dream I can sail through the past
And let my teardrops fall in the ocean, in the ocean
Sometimes I dream I can sail through the past
And let my teardrops fall in the ocean, in the ocean
Sometimes I dream I can sail through the past
And let my teardrops fall at your feet, at your feet
At your feet
I’ll see you one day
I’ll see you one day
I’ll see you one day
I’ll see you one day
I’ll see you one day
I’ll see you one day
I’ll see you one day
I’ll see you
I’ll see you
Coming back for me
Coming back for me
Coming back for me
Coming back for me
Coming back for me
I’ll see you one day
I’ll see you one day
I’ll see you one day
I’ll see you, I’ll see you, I’ll see you, I’ll see you…
I’ll see you one day
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8. |
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The trigger’s pulled
Long-distance goodbye
The trigger’s pulled
The word’s confessed
The trigger’s pulled
One last embrace
The trigger’s pulled
And the sun falls down from far, far distance
Through all we share
Until we all go down, down, down
Kneeling for grace
And the sun falls down from far, far distance
Through all we share
Until we all go down, down, down
Kneeling for grace
From a stranger to another, another
Lavender sky
Another
The pain’s scattered
And time’s wrapping its youthful promise
We’ve got new temples and prays
But the fears remain the same
Never feels any better
Silent motion through science and flares
But it gets older as we fade
Never as we fare
And the sun falls down from far, far distance
Through all we share
Until we all go down, down, down
Kneeling for grace
From a stranger to another, another
Lavender sky
Another
The trigger’s pulled
I’m drifting away
The trigger’s pulled
Without a trace
The trigger’s pulled
One last embrace
If truth is the sorrow we bare
If truth is the sorrow
We pull the trigger
With every step
We pull the trigger
With every step
We pull the trigger
We’re setting fire on a moment that matters
Illusions covering the bad from the worst
Reflecting motion, reflecting motion
From a stranger to another, the good like the worst
We’re pulling the trigger, we’re pulling the trigger
And it hurts like the truths we denied one another
To keep our faith in what doesn’t feel any better
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9. |
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The journey comes with joyful streams
Joyful streams and tearful motions
The journey comes
The journey comes with joyful streams and tearful motions
The love that moves, forgives and heals
The journey comes
The journey comes with joyful streams, tearful motions
The end is beginning
The end is beginning
The love that moves
The love that moves
The end is beginning and I will find you when the night is over
Through shadows of time, ghosts of past sufferings
I will conquer darkness and make it shine
The end… The end is beginning
The end is beginning
I will embrace the lights and let memories find their peace through shadows of time
I will find you when the night is over
The love that moves
The love that moves
The end is beginning and I’m no longer afraid to make it mine
To let my spirit flow, my heartfelt soul transform and molt
To keep my eyes in bloom, to look at you in all wonders
The end is beginning and I’m no longer afraid to make it mine
To keep my eyes in bloom
The end is beginning
The love that moves, forgives and heals
Through shadows of time, ghosts of past sufferings
I will conquer darkness and make it shine
I will conquer darkness and make it shine
I will conquer darkness and make it shine
I will conquer darkness and make it shine
The end, the end is beginning, the end
I will conquer darkness and make it shine
I will conquer darkness and make it shine
I will conquer darkness and make it shine
The love that moves
The love that moves, forgives and heals
The end is beginning
And I will find you in the end, when the night is over
Windows in the sky
Windows in the sky
Windows in the sky
Windows in the sky
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Standing Under Bright Lights takes place approximately 6 months after the release of Alex Henry Foster's phenomenal first solo album Windows in the Sky, that not only debuted at number 3 on the Canadian top 200, right behind Imagine Dragons and Muse, but that also stayed on the top 40 for a year after its initial release, scoring a nomination for best album of the year in Canada while being internationally acclaimed and added to several best albums shortlists all over the world.
Windows in the Sky’s critical and mass success would once again propel Foster to the forefront of the Canadian music scene, where he stood for about a decade as the lead singer for alternative rock band Your Favorite Enemies before going on hiatus the moment he left for Tangier to mourn his passed father. This grieving period, which would last 2 years, became a journey to the end of his sorrowful desperation and is what would ultimately inspire and give life to his first solo record, immediately recognized as the likes of Nick Cave, Sonic Youth, Mogwai, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Having systematically denied any form of touring or public event in order to preserve the intimate nature of his songs at their purest state, the vice-president of the prestigious Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, Laurent Saulnier, nonetheless persistently asked Foster to join the program of the 40th anniversary of the festival as one of the indoor main features. After repeated inquiries, Alex finally accepted the invitation, to the only conditions that he would have absolute control of the production and carte blanche regarding the promotion - which they were pleased to agree to.
The concert was to be a one-off happening, a homage to Foster's late father, who had died almost 5 years prior, almost to the day of the event. It would consist of the entire album Windows in the Sky, re-invented for the occasion as an 11-piece band set to perform along a movie projection produced by Foster. Also based on Foster's vision, award-winning light engineer Pascal Boily created a unique scenic installation, offering an immersive universe where music, movie projections, and light co-existed. Alex wanted for the public to be invited to dwell on the moment rather than have the sensation of attending a concert.
After publicly announcing that his performance would be the sole performance he would do, along with the rumors regarding what would be a unique stage production, the concert became one of the very few sold-out representations the festival had over the years, prompting the international press to cover the concert and fans from Japan, Germany, UK, France, and the US to travel to Montreal for the occasion, which became the most sought-after event of the summer in Montreal.
Ignoring the increasing pressure and out-of-proportion expectations that such a hype typically creates, Foster and his 10-musician band would completely eclipse any of this high anticipation. Their set, almost 2 hours and 30 minutes, is now considered amongst the best concerts throughout the 40 years of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal and has been mentioned as one of the best presentation overall that year. But more importantly, to Alex, the immersive experience he had invited the audience to let go into had been so singularly successful that it set a new standard in the fan experience engagement.
In fact, the concert’s tremendous emotional involvement took such an unprecedented uplifting proportion for Foster that it had him reconsider his position regarding his apprehension for the songs to lose their soulful meaning and intimate nature if played too many times:
“My vision to preserve the integrity of the songs from being played over and over was a son’s ultimate attempt to keep a part of his father alive. But that night, I realized that it’s once communed that every word and sound has the ability to grow beyond the emotions they were created from, making them somehow eternal… just like my father. Therefore, the sole concern that now remains is how willing I am to face the fear to be left alone night after night when I let go of him, when I don’t have any more reasons not to assume who I am now, to stand under bright lights, whatever it may reveal to myself and others.”
Originally set to be released on October 8th of 2020, which would have been his father’s birthday, Foster decided to utilize the extra time the worldwide pandemic would give him to produce the album "Standing Under Bright Lights" featuring the never-released song “The Son of Hannah” with Ben Lemelin, his longtime creative partner and co-producer on “Windows in the Sky”.
released April 16, 2021