Singled Out: He Was A God's Two New Stars

Keavin Wiggins | 02-01-2022

The Smile & The Scar cover art

He Was A God recently released their debut EP, "The Smile & The Scar", and to celebrate we asked Ben Curns to tell us about the song "Two New Stars". Here is the story:

I think one of the strongest marriages of music and lyrics in our catalogue is on our song, "Two New Stars". Here is the story behind that song. When I heard the track for the first time, my first impression was that the verse section sounded sinister; it is a truly evil sounding riff. However, the chorus and bridge sections evoked a certain light, a rising energy, and positivity. I wanted to tell a story that contained both the darkness and the light. I wanted some words that would match the two seemingly disparate feels.

"Two New Stars" is about two young girls who were murdered in upstate New York in the mid-1990s. One of the girls was the sister of a friend of mine, this really chill and funny dude who used to pop by dorm to jam Alice in Chains covers with me.

His girlfriend broke the news ("Terror is screamed down the halls"). I won't go into the gory details of the whole awful chapter but trust me when I say that they are just that: 'gory details'. It was a terribly violent and senseless crime and while there was some little solace when an arrest was quickly made, that sense of justice was also stolen when the suspect hanged himself in his holding cell.

In the aftermath, my friend and his family moved away from the area and those of us who were his friends were sad to see him go. His sister's tragedy was bad enough, but I often wondered "How does a person come back from something like that?" I wondered what would happen to him now that this loss was going to forever be part of his life.

As it turns out, he returned to town the following semester; he wanted to be with his friends, his chosenfamily. He and I went on to play more music together and have some great times. He lives in Europe now and has his own beautiful family. I like to think his sister and her friend are looking out for him and always will. I imagine those two innocent girls as stars in the sky, always managing to shine some tiny lights in the midst of a vast and infinite darkness. You can even hear them sing together in the dual guitar section that ends the track. Keep on singing, ladies. Keep on shining.
This one is for Sarah and Jennifer.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about the EP here