aquadonia: Song Solstice - Summer 2024 - Day 09

Day 09 - Patrick Wolf

We have reached Day 09 of the Summer 2024 Song Solstice! Today's feature is an offering by yet another UK artist, this time by the name of Patrick Wolf. I felt this musical adventure was a good introduction into his music for those who are (sadly) unaware of him. Read on to listen and learn more!

Getting closer to 20 years ago now (wait... what?! How...?), I used to hang out on a forum (and moderated there briefly until it shut down, RIP) that was built on Tori Amos fandom. In an effort to facilitate discovery of new music in the forum (which was always welcome), I attempted to create a radio thing for the forum, using polls to decide what to put on it. Folks would donate MP3s to me for the tracks chosen that I didn't have, and this is largely how I discovered Patrick Wolf. The first album of his that I purchased was his 2007 offering, The Magic Position, which is where you'll find today's track pair, “The Bluebell” and “Bluebells”.

Released as an MP3 single and physically as a label promo disc.

For me, The Magic Position highlights many different aspects of Patrick's musical talents, with the couplet of “The Bluebell'' and “Bluebells” being a wonderful representation. Lyrically the song and its imagery just breathes, pulling you into the feel inside it, his vocal approach bringing it closer. Musically, starting out with simple piano with bits of bells and backing vocal highlights that echo to his earlier works, then adding in a pop beat, digital sound effects, and wonderful instrumental layers to create a lush sound. The lyrical portrait he paints pulls you right into the autumnal heartbreak into the winter being sung about, feeling every vocal and emotion. This song pair is amongst my favorite tracks on the album if not my favorite (I see them as one song, so it's a single track in my eyes). It's just so wonderfully done... It really does deserve so much more love.

Credit: Kim Jakobsen

I'm not a music journalist by any means nor do I know what I ought to know about music to write stuff like this. I just know that Patrick Wolf is an extremely talented musician and, had things gone a bit differently for him, he might be far more known than he is. And he deserves to be. I hope that, in some wonderful way, he gets elevated up and people can learn more about him and be inspired by his world. May this track help you to begin on that magical journey.

[Although “Bluebells” can be played without the preceding track, “The Bluebell” moves into “Bluebells”, which is why I prefer them together whenever possible. However, YouTube does not at all make this easy, thus they are separated. I hope you still find them as wonderful as I do.]

Lyrics

Down
Down
Down
In the park in the last of the light
Among the stray dogs and families
I smell the bonfires and watch
The bombs, fireworks burst
above the trees
into pillows of white cloud
And another year has gone
Goodbye
Now it is the fifth of November,
so I lock the doors
and swallow the key
And draw the curtains
closed forever
Forever?

Lyrics

Lucy, remember

the smell of that fall?

The fires, the fungus, and the rotten leaves?

I fell off the wagon (once more)

into your arms,

into this long month of Sundays

You were my husband, my wife, my heroine

Now this is our final December

Now I'm deep in a forest

losing all thought of spring,

and nothing can help me remember

And I'm going nowhere fast

A darker day has hold at last

Deep in a dream, I set the compass to spinning

Your love has come too late

I wave from the garden gate

"Wake me up when the bluebells are ringing"

"Ringing"

Well how can it be over

after all that we had?

Now comes,

a river runs through the rafters,

down, down, down,

as you leave me sleeping

dreaming only of spring

The phone rings out

and I remember...

That I'm going nowhere fast

A darker days has a hold at last

Deep in a dream, I set the compass keep spinning

Now your love has come too late

as I wave to the garden gate

"Wake me up when the bluebells are ringing"

Ringing, ringing, ringing

[Can you hear them ringing?

Ringing?

Hear them ringing, my love

Ringing, ringing, ringing

I want to heart them]

Ringing

(Now further a field,

two miles and a quarter on a bicycle,

we journey to the wastelands

where stands, on one side of the boy,

a canal filled with blue black waters. On the other,

a long stretch of yellow ferns

burning amber in fierce August sun.

All seems peace and still.

He comes to a stop

looks to the sky

Comes magpie...)

~~~

Disclaimer: All photo, music, lyrics, video, and artwork copyrights belong to their respective owners.
Photos, videos, and lyrics used for reference and informational purposes.

I'm not being paid by them to write this. I'm not a journalist or anything. I just love music.

(Posted on 21st July 2024, backdated to 9th June 2024)

09 June, 2024

Song Solstice - Summer 2024 - Day 09 - Patrick Wolf