Phoenix

Lyrics:

Red King, knocked down.
Overthrown, left to drown.
Holding on to the water’s edge
Clinging to that rocky ground
Though deep water is dragging you down
Rise
Rise up from the water
It won’t douse your fire
Burn bright and let your flames
Inspire.
Like a phoenix from the water
Guardian angel to guide
A phoenix from the water,
Steaming, reborn,
You will rise.

Retrace your steps (I’ll walk with you)
Have a wake for your rebirth
Walking down those dark streets
Remembering that night.
Though memory is shaky and dragging you down
Rise
Rise up from the water
It won’t douse your fire
Burn bright and let your flames
Inspire.
Like a phoenix from the water
Guardian angel to guide
A phoenix from the water,
Soaking, reborn,
You will rise.

So keep your strong heart beating.

A phoenix from the water,
Steaming, reborn,
You will rise.

eamon brett 2011

about this song:

I wanted a drama and tension in this song, without it being melodramatic. It’s one that came together pretty quickly in terms of the piano and the lyrics. It’s the song that I used to try out the piano in the studio, and pointed out that I use pretty much the full range of the piano while playing that song, though I think “Galway Rain” covers a bit more ground on the instrument opening/closing, but this song really uses the whole of the piano all the way through.

The layered vocals in this song were never demo’d at home, and I heard them for the first time after we tracked the layer for the middle section in the studio for the “strong heart beating” section. I’d written them out on manuscript paper, and thought that they might work. But that section was the first attempt at trying out the layered vocals in the studio, and each line was done in just one take, pretty much, and it came together better than I’d hoped it would. After piano and my vocals, we just added Meadhbh doubling some of my harmony parts, and really reaching down into her low range for some of those. Aonghus came up with a lovely cello line for this and really helped flesh out the mood I wanted.

Song credits:

mister ebby – piano, vocals
meadhbh sullivan – vocals
aonghus mac amhlaigh – cello