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Singled Out: The Deer's Cry's Night Falls

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The Deer's Cry just released their new album, "Heal The Heart", and to celebrate we asked lead singer/harpist Karen Ballew to tell us about the track, "Night Falls". Here is the story:

Sometimes, telling the story behind a song can feel a bit like an archeological excavation! The top layer of earth is what you hear on the recording, but there are many layers and inspirations that lead to that final realization of lyrics, melody, and instrumentation. So here is the story of "Night Falls."

One of my favorite folk songs is the French lullaby, "Berceuse pour Jean." I first heard it on a 1954 recording by Henriette and Elie Zmirou. The melody has a wonderful arc to it-the middle part is higher in register and the phrases build before returning to the opening theme. I tend to worry late at night and have trouble going to sleep. One night, I started singing some different words to this old French lullaby: "Night falls, gently as is calls / Let your heart be still. / Send your worries through the air / God will find them there.'" Eventually, I had a poem called "Night Falls" sung to the melody of "Berceuse pour Jean."

Weeks later, an idea for a new melody struck me, and I started working it out at the piano! This is the melody you hear on the recording. On a surface level, the new melody I wrote sounds very different from that of "Berceuse pour Jean," but the lyrical cadence and melodic arc are still very much inspired by this French lullaby!

The next "layer of earth" is the traditional Irish "Deep Peace" blessing. It has been a great comfort to me over the years, and I felt its message would be a nice addition to the song! The blessing is in English, but I thought it would be wonderful to start the song with an Irish language recitation. Thankfully, my friend and mentor, Éilís Kennedy, connected me with her sister, Dairena Ní Chinnéide, who created a lovely Irish language version! I recite Dairena's poetic translation at the beginning of the song and close with the English version.

From there, it was fun collaborating with my bandmates on the arrangement: Bryan Brock on doumbek drum and percussion, Patrick Atwater on upright bass, and Will MacLean on guitar and banjo! I played Celtic harp, and our producer Nick Bullock created a horn arrangement recorded by Leif Shires (trumpet) and Simon Yeh (tenor saxophone and clarinet)!

The most recent layer for this song involves dancing and preparations for a music video (filmed and produced by my husband, Brad Ballew)! In June of 2021, I began learning a Central Asian style dance called Pamiri from professional dancer and choreographer Natalie Nayun. Natalie is working with me to choreograph a dance that will be featured in the "Night Falls" music video! We've already filmed some footage just outside of Zion National Park in Utah. Brad rented a special low-light camera, so you will be able to see the stars and Milky Way very clearly!

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

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Singled Out: The Deer's Cry's Night Falls

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