The spark for this song came from reading "Letters from Max", a correspondence between poet Max Ritvo and playwright and poet Sarah Ruhl. I think I stole something from them, but for the life of me, I can't find it, rereading the letters. My apologies.
It's about the feeling, when accompanying someone through their last days, that you can somehow go with them without dying yourself.
lyrics
The Torch
I thought I could carry the torch into the night where you were headed.
Fifty years of fire on my mind, cantabile.
I thought by calling you back I could stop the progression, and charge a life force from a spark of recognition. I wanted to carve it in stone and force a confession.
I wanted to carry the torch into the night where you were headed.
What would it take til I believed that you believed me?
I’m below your sky, under your wing.
I thought I could pray to a god and make your body get better, and when that didn’t work, that one day we’d meet up again together. I’d be your daughter there and you would be my teacher, and I’d carry the torch into the night where we were headed.
The soul is a useful thing, bright and lonely.
I’m below your sky, under your wing.
credits
from Dead Reckoning,
released January 15, 2023
Kate, Mark (guitar and piano), Connor, Stéphane.
The stripped-down approach (mostly piano/organ, bass, drums) favoured here puts the spotlight squarely on Brown's soulful, meditative lyrics and vocals, which are frequently augmented by the sublime Kate Fenner. The arrangements are no slouch either, with perfect flourishes of horns, harmonica and guitar that add to the overall warm folk-soul vibe.
Right on target, so direct, this album feels as natural as the changing seasons and weaves a spell that lingers long after listening. Mike Garrett
As a lifelong fan of psyche, I was delighted to have found this, stunned that I'd missed them for three decades and devastated by the news of Dallas' passing. Makes many of the album's lyrics even more poignant. I hear echoes of the Chocolate Watch Band, Long Ryders and both the pop and country sides of the Byrds. Stunning, and a contender for my album of the year. Iain H