The Head and the Heart at 9:30 Club - Thursday June 28
I knew that I loved this band the second I heard their song "Lost in my Mind"'s chorus.
I also knew that they have their finger on the pulse of something beyond this life. I'm not sure they're overtly Christian, but their lyrics and the beautiful melodies they produce definitely point me heavenward.
However, it wasn't until tonight, seeing them live, that I really got what a journey of redemption their eponymous album of 2011 is. If played in order, you get three very distinctive sections that tell the story of the saving of a soul, simply, in a straightforward and earthy way.
The lyrics I have extracted here show three clear stages - 1) The Fall 2) The Redirect 3) The Move In
Part 1 - The Fall
1. Cats and Dogs :
"Fallin' from the sky
There are raindrops in my eyes
And my thoughts are diggin' in the backyard
My roots have grown but I don't know where they are"
2. Coeur d'Alene:
"What will become of these gestures that we made
I've given up my Bible, you moved out of state"
3. Ghosts:
"Andy built his coffin down in Carolina
Told me he was runnin' from somethin'
But I think he's just out chasin' girls
When Mary moved all of her shit to Chicago
Her mother made sure that she left with her Bible but
You won't find her face on Sundays"
Part 2: The Redirect
(This is where the album really hits its stride, in my opinion)
4. Down in the Valley
"Down in the valley with
Whiskey rivers
These are the places you will find me hidin'
These are the places I will always go
...
Lord have mercy on my rough and rowdy ways"
5. Honey Come Home:
"Honey, come home
My stubborn ways are behind me now
They're behind me now
And there's nothing here
That will not break down"
6. Lost in my Mind:
"How's that bricklayin' comin'?
How's your engine runnin'?
Is that bridge gettin' built?
Are your hands gettin' filled?
Won't you tell me, my brother?
'Cause there are stars
Up above
We can start
Moving forward"
Part 3 - The Move In
7. Winter Song
"We're just prayin' that we're doin' this right
Though that's not the way it seems"
8. Sounds Like Hallelujah:
"I'm not walkin' away
I'm just hearin' what you're sayin'
For the first time
Sounds like hallelujah"
9. Heaven Go Easy on Me
"God, what are we doin'?
Can't live this way forever
My sister and my brother
Look to me for answers
And our fathers and our mothers
Wanna know they raised us right
Wanna know they raised us right"
10. Rivers and Roads:
"A year from now we'll all be gone...
Rivers and roads
Rivers and roads
Rivers till I reach you"
Even though they didn't play the songs in order at 9:30 club on Thursday night, I can say with truth that it was an incredibly worshipful experience for me. It took a while for me to get into the spirit and I think it took a few songs for the band to really warm up too. But once they did, and once I did, the communion of music and worship with the beautiful lyrics I have sampled above made for a very memorable evening. They played soulfully and from the heart. And their lyrics show that they have clearly used their heads. I think the band has found a very appropriate name for themselves and I look forward to the next time we meet.
I also knew that they have their finger on the pulse of something beyond this life. I'm not sure they're overtly Christian, but their lyrics and the beautiful melodies they produce definitely point me heavenward.
However, it wasn't until tonight, seeing them live, that I really got what a journey of redemption their eponymous album of 2011 is. If played in order, you get three very distinctive sections that tell the story of the saving of a soul, simply, in a straightforward and earthy way.
The lyrics I have extracted here show three clear stages - 1) The Fall 2) The Redirect 3) The Move In
Part 1 - The Fall
1. Cats and Dogs :
"Fallin' from the sky
There are raindrops in my eyes
And my thoughts are diggin' in the backyard
My roots have grown but I don't know where they are"
2. Coeur d'Alene:
"What will become of these gestures that we made
I've given up my Bible, you moved out of state"
3. Ghosts:
"Andy built his coffin down in Carolina
Told me he was runnin' from somethin'
But I think he's just out chasin' girls
When Mary moved all of her shit to Chicago
Her mother made sure that she left with her Bible but
You won't find her face on Sundays"
Part 2: The Redirect
(This is where the album really hits its stride, in my opinion)
4. Down in the Valley
"Down in the valley with
Whiskey rivers
These are the places you will find me hidin'
These are the places I will always go
...
Lord have mercy on my rough and rowdy ways"
5. Honey Come Home:
"Honey, come home
My stubborn ways are behind me now
They're behind me now
And there's nothing here
That will not break down"
6. Lost in my Mind:
"How's that bricklayin' comin'?
How's your engine runnin'?
Is that bridge gettin' built?
Are your hands gettin' filled?
Won't you tell me, my brother?
'Cause there are stars
Up above
We can start
Moving forward"
Part 3 - The Move In
7. Winter Song
"We're just prayin' that we're doin' this right
Though that's not the way it seems"
8. Sounds Like Hallelujah:
"I'm not walkin' away
I'm just hearin' what you're sayin'
For the first time
Sounds like hallelujah"
9. Heaven Go Easy on Me
"God, what are we doin'?
Can't live this way forever
My sister and my brother
Look to me for answers
And our fathers and our mothers
Wanna know they raised us right
Wanna know they raised us right"
10. Rivers and Roads:
"A year from now we'll all be gone...
Rivers and roads
Rivers and roads
Rivers till I reach you"
Even though they didn't play the songs in order at 9:30 club on Thursday night, I can say with truth that it was an incredibly worshipful experience for me. It took a while for me to get into the spirit and I think it took a few songs for the band to really warm up too. But once they did, and once I did, the communion of music and worship with the beautiful lyrics I have sampled above made for a very memorable evening. They played soulfully and from the heart. And their lyrics show that they have clearly used their heads. I think the band has found a very appropriate name for themselves and I look forward to the next time we meet.
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