1991
Apr 26, 2020
Sam Pearce
Rotator
I’ve been dreaming since 1991, palindrome who gave me to the sun.
Last night I dreamed that I turned off the oven and wrapped my long arms around my love and our little people with their big questions. We’re different kinds of weird and all each other’s heart.
I’ve been singing since 1998 (cowboy song tape my mother put up with for my sake)
Looking for feedback on
Lyrics. It’s a first take, and the performance is messy, but I appreciate feedback on anything
Discussion
nurphgun April 30, 2020 5:43pm
Beautiful. The guitar performance gave me huge weepy feels. Agree with everyone else that the messiness realllly works on this one. Live-at-Sin-e vibes. I really like the lyrics — simple and sweet.
Sam Pearce May 10, 2020 9:58pm
Thank you! Live-at-Sin-e is a very kind comparison, and I appreciate it.
Kristoph April 27, 2020 9:10pm
I love how huge you can make a song feel – I’d also push back on the idea that the guitar isn’t in control – I think it’s excessively organic and human – which makes me happy. The warmth of that lifts your voice in every facet of the song, be it the exclamations or the whispers. Also, love that you threw some growl in there. Great stuff, Sam.
-C
Sam Pearce April 28, 2020 9:54am
Thank you, Chris. That’s really nice perspective, regarding the guitar, and I’m able to listen again and embrace it and enjoy the song more.
alechutson April 27, 2020 5:24pm
Lovely guitar tone and performance. I loved the vocal jump to the higher register at the end. Very raw and real, messy playing be damned.
Sam Pearce April 28, 2020 10:14am
Thank you, Alec! That jump was a last-second decision, and I’m glad it worked for you, and I think I’ll keep it if I play this song again.
Ryan April 27, 2020 11:05am
Huge respect for putting up a first take. It definitely paid off here. The ‘palindrome’ lyric is really lovely. Everything in the dream section works really well for me except for the penultimate line. I think “we’re all each other’s” would work even better if we hadn’t heard “we’re all each other’s heart”. Maybe see what’s it like to bring the concreteness of the first line of this section into this line and if that makes the last line land even more. Really great work, Sam. And the guitar playing is incredible.
Sam Pearce April 28, 2020 9:56am
Thanks for your kind words, Ryan! I agree about that lyric. Or, I had a whisper of doubt, and you helped me hear it clearly. I like your suggestion for completing the thought, and I’m gonna try it.
Sam PearceApril 28, 2020 10:11am
Also, since I think you and Nick might also think this is cool, and so as not to falsely take credit for the idea, I came up with that “palindrome” line thinking about the expression “dar a luz”, which as far as I know, is just the normal way to say “to give birth” in Spanish and Portuguese, and I think that construction is beautiful, so I wanted to try it in English.
nick April 27, 2020 10:18am
“I’ve been dreaming since 1991, palindrome who gave me to the sun.” I love that so much.
The messiness is so welcome here. You are showing a different part of the process which is equally valuable. And yeah, dude, the guitar playing is insane! You always manage to write and play accessible guitar lines with incredible distinction and character. Gonna have to give it a few more listens before I give feedback on any lyrics. Until then, so glad to have you on this one.
Tengo April 27, 2020 11:24am
second to what Ryan and Nick said re: guitar lines. Just a beautiful thread seamless weaving through the song the whole time. Could live in that for a looooong time
Sam PearceApril 28, 2020 10:26am
Thank you! I appreciate that kind description, and I’ve never thought about guitar music as cloth before, but now I am:)
aubspeeps April 27, 2020 2:22pm
re: “The messiness is so welcome here. You are showing a different part of the process which is equally valuable” YES fully agree
Sam Pearce April 28, 2020 10:01am
Thanks, Nick. I really appreciate your words on my playing, and I took them to heart as I was completing the Lullaby assignment and I think that gave me a little confidence, which helped me play something more interesting than I otherwise might have.
aubspeeps April 27, 2020 12:00am
the vocals and the melody are so beautiful and emotional, I think the instinct to record a first take is smart for conveying a feeling, it’s where a lot of the artist’s emotions lie and can be very vulnerable and beautiful to listen to. great job! i also wouldn’t have thought this was a first take if you hadn’t mentioned it
froebusiness April 26, 2020 10:03pm
Sentimental, spacey vibes.
Sam Pearce April 28, 2020 10:26am
Thanks!
Z April 26, 2020 9:54pm
Suh dude, not sure if you’re there atm but I felt like I was sharing a quiet cape cod moment with you after dark.
Messiness – Not sure if I got the lyric right but when you sing “the sun” and there’s a bright flourish on the guitar, I thought that was great because it brings things out of the darkness for a moment, but there’s also this kinda “fuck up” which scanned to me like wincing at the sun, thought it was really poignant.
Melodically there was nothing that rubbed me the wrong way in the vocals – lyrics not any feedback because I’d love to read the lyrics sheet.
The guitar playing was super expressive! Put a lot of vitality into the song.
Title is brilliant.
Love,
-Z
Sam Pearce April 28, 2020 9:52am
Thanks, Z! Yes, that was, in fact, on the cape after dark:) I appreciate your comment about that mistake, because I’ve absorbed your interpretation, and that moment used to bother me a little and now I like it.
Ben April 26, 2020 9:16pm
wow this is gorgeous. the belting vocals are insane, and i Love the very end with that little guitar slide line
Sam Pearce April 28, 2020 10:03am
Thank you, Ben! As I was playing that line, I was prepared for each note to be a wrong one, so there were these successive moments of relief every time it turned out to be in the key:)