in the frozen nights I go roaming in the bed you used to share with me
I’ve found myself smitten all over again these days with the song “Wolves” by Josh Ritter.
Two years ago this weekend, I sat transfixed as he performed it at my first Noise Pop show of 2007, at the Swedish American Hall in San Francisco.
Wolves – Josh Ritter
(something inside of me careens into a sad void, suspended in the ache, when the verse at 2:48 starts. Such a magnificent song.)
I still remember that time when we were dancing, we were dancing to a song that I’d heard. Your face was simple and your hands were naked, I was singing without knowing the words. But I started listening to the wolves in the timber, wolves in the timber at night. I heard their song when I looked in the mirror, in the howls and the moons round my eyes…
So long, so high
Then winter came, and there was little left between us – skin and bones of love won’t make a meal. I felt my eyes lifted over your shoulder, there were wolves at the edge of the fields. But I still remember that time when we were dancing, we were dancing to a song that I’d heard. Your face was simple and your hands were naked, I was singing without knowing the words…
So long, so high
Then one day I just woke up and the wolves were all there, wolves in the piano, wolves underneath the stairs, wolves inside the hinges circling round my door, at night inside the bedsprings, clicking cross the floor. I don’t know how they found me I’ll never know quite how. I still can’t believe they heard me, that I was howling out that loud…
So long, so high
Sometimes in the frozen nights I go roaming in the bed you used to share with me. I wake in the field with the cold and the lonesome, the moon’s the only face that I see. I still remember that time when we were dancing, dancing to a song that I’d heard. Your face was simple and your hands were naked, I was singing without knowing the words.
So long so high
Ritter has a “teeny tiny Spring tour” coming up, in which the band will be taking a break from the studio, shaking off some rust, and playing new songs. Yeah, I’d recommend going.
I’ve never heard this song before, but it is totally and completely where I’m at right now. Thank you so much.
Philip — February 28, 2009 @ 12:20 pm
I love, love, love, love, love Josh Ritter. Thanks for posting his stuff and trying to expose him to a wider audience.
Heather — February 28, 2009 @ 2:43 pm
Such an incredible song!
Anytime you can go see Josh Ritter I’d suggest it as well. The fact that Josh hangs around after his shows to chat and take pictures is pretty incredible as well. One of the nicest and most genuine individuals I’ve ever met.
Neil — February 28, 2009 @ 6:34 pm
Funny, the chorus to this song has been running through my head for the past two years. I’ll forget about it for a time, then it’ll appear out of nowhere and suddenly I’m singing it to myself. To say the track is “infectious” simply doesn’t do it justice!
Justin — March 2, 2009 @ 5:21 pm
Josh Ritter is one of my absolutely favorite singer-songerwriters. If you have a chance to see him, do it. He clearly loves his craft and it shows in his music. One his last tour, Josh wrote an essay on each city/stop on the tour. It was impressive.
Brendan — March 2, 2009 @ 9:59 pm
God. He killed it at this year’s Noise Pop. Just him and a string quartet, and several songs solo – a few without mic or amplification. Every person in the hall was rapt for the entire set. Special night.
Photos here:
http://www.strangerdance.com/photos-josh-ritter-great-american-music-hall-san-francisco-noise-pop/
Stranger Jay — March 9, 2009 @ 7:41 pm
[...] to I Am Fuel, You Are Friends to check out the full lyrics, plus a video of the live [...]
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