Thoughts & Prayers

This is a song I began work on in early July. When I awoke on Friday, July 8th to the news of yet another instance of senseless violence, I knew that I had to finish it as soon as possible and allow my voice to be heard. I spent the following Monday night recording a demo at my friend Mike Frisina's home studio and rushed to release that on Soundcloud for streaming the next morning. Then on Friday the 15th, I set up shop at SubCat studios with my good friend Jeremy Johnston, a brilliant intern with some great analog experience named Brian (sorry, I never got your last name), and a 2-track tape machine. Together we tracked a simple and heartfelt version of the tune straight to tape; Brian ran the machine, Jeremy automated the preamps live and on the fly, and I provided the musical performance. I felt like a thousand voices were speaking through me while I played this take and the three of us worked as one to make what I am proud to say that I believe is a beautiful document of my own thoughts about the current state of affairs.

lyrics

Look at your surroundings; 
search for the light and the love in the things you see. 
Do you feel like you've been drowning? 
Are you gasping for air in the form of some empathy? 
It seems in short supply these days, 
like everyone's looking out only for number one. 
But we're all the same in many ways. 
Let us not fall in traps and succumb to the apathy. 
We can stand together; allow the space between to fade. 
If not now, then never. 
We'll let the anger drift away. 
Too often are we called upon
to mourn for the loss and the lives of the innocent. 
If thoughts and prayers are all we've got, 
then we've handed our weapons of peace to the government. 
We can stand together; allow the space between to fade. 
If not now, then never. 
We'll let the anger drift away.

credits

released July 15, 2016
Music, lyrics, electric guitar, and vocals by Stephen Douglas Wolfe. Engineered directly to tape by Jeremy Johnston and Brian Babel at SubCat Studios.