FAWM: "Boy In The Well (of Inspiration)"

Boy In The Well (of Inspiration)

2 weeks ago by @carleybaer · @stephenwordsmith

Boy In The Well (of Inspiration)

carleybaer +1

00:00

Liner Notes

Carley: All of Stephen's lyrics are delightful, but occasionally one will jump off the screen at me, and that's usually a sign I should take a crack at it. This one I could hear instantly and it was just a matter of paring down the ideas into something manageable. It was very fun.

Lyrics

Every step he took was cautious
Every move unsteady, yet
Each advance soon brought him where the knoll
And night now halfway met
He crawled a little closer
On that bare and moonlit hill
To the well of inspiration
Where he chanced to take his fill

He leaned out across the stonework
Gazing down into the dim
Seeking light in distant darkness
Slipped in silence cross the rim
Soon to find himself immersed, with
Barely room to rise and stand
In the well of inspiration
He knelt down and cupped his hand

His mind no longer stagnant
As imagination flowed
Like a crystal in its clarity
As sparkling as the lode
But the moonlight is a minnow
And the walls are moist and steep
In the well of inspiration
Where he slipped and fell so deep

And he sang with voice of reason
And he cried in tongues of rhyme
But in the end, no pity falls
On those who fail to climb
At the sober rise of morning sun
A little boy was found
In the well of inspiration
Where he drank so deep and drowned

Comments

@delahannah 1w

Wow! Loved this :) Captivating story telling, didn’t want it to end haha! Loved the bass, fits so well. You’re voice is crisp and wonderful to listen to. Excellent 💓

@sherrycanary 1w

What an amazing rendering of Stephen's telling of this tragic tale.
Carly, the way your vocals weave around Stephen's lyrics is masterful.
The music really fit too!

@blindkiwi 2w

Absolutely delightful delivery of beautifully crafted lyrics. I'll take another cup 😎

@dr_griff 2w

Chilling and beautiful all at once. I will be humming this tomorrow.

@overflow 2w

This is haunting! Beautifully illustrative lyrics, and the vocals and instrumentation set the mood perfectly.

@ambroise 2w

So cold and sad.
Those bass and drum are soft and spooky. The synth is a mist. Such a ghostly decoration wraping the story as does the poetry of the lyrics, until the last word that comes at us raw.
I do relate to the character, and maybe a little too much.
My favorite line : "Seeking light in distant darkness "

@eamarant 2w

Lovely! The vocal doubles in the production is a gorgeous touch.

@tcelliott 2w

What a perfect arrangement. The doubled vocals are perfect. I'm literally hitting play again immediately after it finished. The third stanza is treated as a rise and it's very effective. All the more to give more notice to the last which I found satisfyingly final, in more ways than one. The ending is perfect. The lyric and the music. Very well crafted words, I can see the draw.

@stephenwordsmith 2w

I can see the Nick Cave comparison (and I have to take some responsibility for that), but there's an ethereal, folkloric quality to the delivery that separates it from your usual murder ballad. The gently rising 'oohs' that start in V2, the misty, piercing vocals, and the little soar at the penultimate couplets. Lovely, in a murderous way.

I agree with the previous comment(s) that the cold close is very effective, but one thing that struck me was the tone of V3. This is a moment where the boy has received the full (forbidden?) fruits of knowledge, and should be a joyous, epiphanous moment, but it's clear from the tone that the little guy is *stuffed*. He has crossed the event horizon. Icarus has flown too close to the sun. And that creates a delicious dissonance with what, in the context of silence (*takes shot*) is a very positive lyric.

Thank you so much for putting this to music - you've really breathed some life (and death) into a lyric that I thought was, y'know, pretty decent already.

@alicelimoges 2w

Amazing!! I love the melody and arrangement and the words are so unique and fabulous.

@mikeb 2w

The simple arrangement sets a very moody picture, but then the whole thing opens up in that 3rd stanza, returning to the somewhat-sad mood again for the final verse. Nicely done!

@headfirstonlyMod 2w

Wow. What a story! And Carley takes Stephen's lyrics and make them fly; I don't think anyone could ask for a more sympathetic and accomplished arrangement. The production touches had me grinning, right down to the way that the reverb falls away from the very last word. Glorious, just glorious.

@jerrypettit 2w

Always love Stephen's lyrics--and your vocal on this is incredible. Not to mention the musical arrangement. One of the best collaborations I've heard this season. Terrific! ❤️

@sph 2w

Brilliant! Lyrics, arrangement and singing are top. This develops wonderfully.
In my head I hear lamenting trumpets crying over the tragedy. So, if you do the full blown technicolor version, you know what to do 😀

@catetaylor 2w

This is wonderful. Really atmospheric both musically and lyrically and perfect movement/placement in your vocal. What a gorgeous voice you have! So many great lines in here. Great collab!

@tan482 2w

What a gorgeous collab! Sparkling lyrics and the musical setting is just delightful. Really enjoyed this!

@coolparadisoMod 2w

I commented on the lyric previously! I like the talk approach to this! Great delivery, not overdone, pulls all the lyrics nicely out! Very good

@jimdgreen 2w

This feels like a surprising light cover of a Nick Cave song . . . and that is seriously cool.

The production is just enough, which is always the right amount.

Thanks for sharing, this was my first listen of the day and I can't believe anything will match this.

@ampersandman 2w

A masterpiece! Both the poetic lyrics and the musical execution are just amazing. Especially the harmonic change at the climax is just perfect. And I just love your voice Carly!

@beacon 2w

Tremendous lyrics, and I can see why you wanted to cover it. Vocals are top notch as always, but I love the mood you've created. Bravo and Brava!

@mikeskliar 2w

wow, this is a powerful lyric (love so many lines/verses, but none more then 'the moonlight is a minnow and the walls are moist and steep in the well of inspiration where he slipped and fell so deep'..

and that music and performance really brings it to life- fantastic work all around by everyone! 'drank so deep and drowned' indeed- this is really a keeper!