Making the large look small, turning our heads

I am home from an incredible, restorative weekend in Nashville, immersed in beauty, gorging on art and music. On the way home this gorgeous song from Sheboygan, Wisconsin duo Cedarwell came up on my shuffle, all about the Great Smoky Mountains, and being pulled inexorably back to Tennessee.

I listened to it six times, and watched a mind-blowing meteor shower taking place outside my plane window. The song meanders from folksy acoustic ballad that feels like a classic song you’ve always known, into a loop-laden, shimmering crescendo, and then back again to quiet rest.

Smoky Mountains – Cedarwell

Darkness swallows all the clouds, I wish it swallowed me
not to die but to be held where I could barely see the face of God
see the face of me

Yellow lifetimes flashing forth and bursting into one
separated from myself and swirling towards the suns on earthly light
suns on earthly sun

…The Smoky Mountains call me
as far as Tennessee
then i can be alone and have no enemies
the Smoky Mountains push back as strong as life itself
making the large look small, turning our heads

But what that god is trying to say, I’ll be the last to know…

This is one of many songs for download on their website; I fell completely for “Black Lung” earlier this year, and there are dozens of other efforts to explore.

Cedarwell writes: “Soaked in weight and blackness, they slept for a summer and dreamt of colored glass, dry land walking, crimson leaves, Wisconsin skies, and lighthouses that point to heaven but are rooted in hell.” Their music is simple, and beautiful.