Jangling Sparrows frontman Paul Edelman has released his latest E{ "140 Nickels". To celebrate we asked him to tell us about the track "Burnin' A Hole". Here is the story:
"Burnin' A Hole" is sort of my "Dock of the Bay" if you will. It's a recollection of my youth, sitting where I grew up on the north shore of Long Island. And I certainly leaned on the emotional context of the Otis Redding song. Even as a kid, sitting there, I would think of that tune and relate to it.
That's the liner note answer, the answer I've given in previous interviews. The answer in the press release. But It's impossible to overstate what this song really means to me.
It's not just a memory. It's a meditation. Through lyric, mood, musical approach and delivery I'm trying to create a bubble where the listener can sit.
Where they can know what it felt like. I want to do more than paint a picture. I want the listener to smell it, feel the sun on their face. Be there.
It was important to try to achieve this in the song because I want to bring myself back there. I want to put myself in that bubble and through that process take the listener with me.
But more, I want to see that kid. I want to be that kid again. I want to talk to that kid again. That's what this song really is. It's a mantra of sorts to reach that kid. yes, I want to tell him what to do, how to be brave. But really I want to bring some of who he was back with me now. I want to incorporate how that boy saw life into my life now. I want to stay connected to that kid. So, in the end,"Burnin A Hole" is my attempt to create a portal in time that I can open and revisit at will.
Folks might also notice that it's a little different than the other songs on 140 Nickels. It's more downbeat, more driving roots rock. This too was intentional. Roots rock and the "No Depression" genre was the first time music really lit me up since I was a teen.It really was my first introduction into being a good songwriter. And I wanted the music to reflect that sense of being opened up and really influenced by something in a way that we don't really feel as much when we grow up.
Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the EP right here!
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