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Sowing Acorns

by Emma Langford

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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Hello! Please visit www.steamboat.ie to buy Sowing Acorns on cd or vinyl - Steamboat offer local, national and international shipping.

    Sowing Acorns comes in a beautiful gatefold card case and includes a very special booklet featuring childhood photos, my dad's sketches, some personal notes, and the lyrics to all 12 original tracks featured on the record.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Sowing Acorns via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 21 Emma Langford releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Abigail (Tomhas Ghobnatan), The Wexford Carol, The Winding Way Down To Kells Bay (With the RTÉ Concert Orchestra), Winter Nights, Birdsong (Arvo Party remix), At Seventeen, The Winding Way Down to Kells Bay (piano instrumental), Sowing Acorns, and 13 more. , and , .

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  • Limited Edition 12" Vinyl
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Hello! Please visit www.steamboat.ie to buy Sowing Acorns on cd or vinyl - Steamboat offer local, national and international shipping!

    Sowing Acorns comes in a beautiful gatefold case, and includes a very special fold-out poster with childhood photos, my dad's sketches, personal notes, and the lyrics to all 12 original tracks featured on the record. Each vinyl comes with a download code card.

    Track List:

    1. Birdsong
    Choir: Niamh Farrell, Sadbh Ní Shúilleabháin, Cari Q, Jess Leen, Ruth Smith, Alma Kelliher

    2. Sailor's Wife

    3. He Came From the Sea

    4. The Winding Way Down to Kells Bay

    5. Port Na nPúcaí - Alec Brown

    6. Sowing Acorns (feat. Vanessa Ifediora)

    7. Mariana

    8. Song For My Younger Self

    9. Ready O

    10. Goodbye Hawaii

    11. Demon Darling

    12. Free To Fall

    13. You Are Not Mine (AKA This Song Isn't About You, You Lying Bollix)

    Includes unlimited streaming of Sowing Acorns via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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1.
Birdsong 02:57
'Til your eyes find me I'm strong as my bones 'Til then here I stand, I am strong as my bones 'Til your eyes find me I am strong as my bones 'til then, only then I am strong as my bones Then only then I am all self-doubt All my will and my won't fly out of my mouth Like a little white dove that you've trained so well to sing prettily along to another bird's song 'Til your eyes find me I am strong as my bones 'til then, only then I am strong as my bones x 2 Meanwhile I’m tall, I am tow'ring above All your hate in your soul can't undo this self-love Like a little white dove that will soar on the wind Proudly bruising my lungs with the songs I have sung 'Til your eyes find me I am strong as my bones 'til then, only then I am strong as my bones x 2 I'll beat my breast cry a great fearsome cry See you cowering then, as I fly high And when I am done, oh I’ll swoop on down Seeking those eyes of judgement, I'll peck 'em out 'Til your eyes find me I am strong as my bones 'til then, only then I am strong as my bones But for now I belong to no beast, man, or thing, My own self is my own I am strong as my bones Like a fierce bird of prey that knows only the hunt With a strength you don't know how your pretty bird's flown 'Til your eyes find me I am strong as my bones 'til then, only then I am strong as my bones x 4
2.
Well I put my life on hold waiting ‘round for you And now you sail the seven seas and what am I to do? And do you think of me out there, and are you coming home? Or did you pack a single care in setting out alone So you built a boat, a sturdy one, from anything you found And you pushed off from familiar shores to find unchartered ground But the waters that you sail upon might tear you limb from limb So Gods bless the boat you built yourself and all who sail within Now you’re drifting, Ooh Drifting... Well I think about from time to time building myself a boat And setting out to find you boy, we’d be two ships afloat, And I think of you there bobbin’ like a cork upon the sea Oh are you dead or livin’ boy, won’t you come on back to me? Drift on back to me, come on home to me, drift on back to me Now you’re drifting, Ooh. Drifting, Ooh Drifting Now you’re drifting, Ooh, Ooh…
3.
When the boat did rock, well he threw his sails to the wind And he didn't mind the rain, it felt cool on his skin But it came as quite a shock to find himself at sea But he didn't mind the solitude, it felt new to be free And the boat did try to cast him off But he clung with both hands to the mast Yes the boat did try to cast him off You must cling with both hands to the mast And the times that he felt his fingers slip and he thought that he'd jump ship He felt a cool breeze, a voice on the ocean It was soothing, it was soothing, and it made him steady And the boat did try to cast him off But he clung with both hands to the mast Yes the boat did try to cast him off You must cling with both hands to the mast He came in from the sea And with his feet on solid ground Sure, he wondered what all the fuss had been about He came in from the sea x 4
4.
Oh the road stretches out before your feet on the winding way down to Kells Bay And the Golden sunset's like no other they say on the winding way down to Kells Bay Where sorrow's met with smiling eyes and a great black cloak brushed with stars for a sky And the old trees lean in there to whisper a tale on the winding way down to Kells Bay There's a song in the heart of the people you'll meet on the winding way down to Kells Bay, Yes a joke to be shared and a drink to be drank on the winding way down to Kells Bay And the green Kerry Hills overlooking the sea, and the fuschias are blooming so brightly and sweet And the ocean could carry our worries away on the winding way down to Kells Bay On the winding way down, oh the winding way down, On the winding way down to Kells Bay Yes the ocean could carry our worries away on the winding way down to Kells Bay There's a saint on the hillside i dteach deas beag buí, on the winding way down to Kells Bay Lean isteach leat a stóirín agus lig do scíth on the winding way down to Kells Bay, And when the bell rings then we'll all head away on the winding road down to Kells Bay, Where the ocean could carry our worries away on the winding way down to Kells Bay, And the Golden sunset's like no other, they say, on the winding way down to Kells Bay, And we'll stop for the chat, and the auld cupán tae, on the winding way down to Kells Bay. Yes the ocean could carry our worries away, on the winding way down...
5.
6.
My loneliness reverberates around the thin cold walls. It's where I sleep, where I work It's where I daydream I’ve been holding out on you these past nights, Hoping you’d find me yourself before light Dreams they don’t come to me willingly now Darkness no comfort, silence no shroud, So I have to reason where reason allows These eyes grow weary now tracing the lines, Counting the cracks in a grey plaster sky Dreams don’t entice them to rest for a while, Dreams are the locked box kept deep in the mind And some fear what hides behind their own closed eyes I’ve been sowing acorns in my densely woven mind I’ve been growing trees from memories for us to climb And when we reach the top what will we see? And when we’ve climbed them all what will we dream? Or will we dream? Will we dream? My bed is the safest and saddest place I know. It's where I wrap a tired arm around myself when my skin hurts from exhaustion. My bed is where I decide to survive. So sleep will come to me now willingly Peaceful and dreamless will overcome me Words fade, this jaded mind gives up the fight, Worries and thoughts tangle, twist and unwind Lost now I drift in this blue black of night I’ve been sowing acorns in my densely woven mind I’ve been growing trees from memories for us to climb And when we reach the top what will we see? And when we’ve climbed them all what will we dream? Or will we dream? Oh, will we dream? Oh, Will we dream? My bed is where inspiration comes, where I drew my sketches. It's where I wrote these words. My bed is where I imagine a gentle hand holding mine.
7.
Mariana 04:10
Mariana, listen to me, I know an ocean lies between us, But dear lady, honest truly, I perceive more than I’ve seen thus far And you, you’re much stronger, not much longer now ‘til this load comes off your back You can shout now, let it out now, you don’t have to hold back Mariana, in your bright eyes I see dark skies ever looming But amiga if I had the sunshine I would wrap it round your neck to warm you Eastern beauty it’s a strange land, And we’re strangers in this life But dear lady, honest truly, it gets easier now, let it in a little light And you, you’re much stronger, not much longer now ‘til this load comes off your back You can shout now, let it out now, you don’t have to hold back, have to hold back Mariana, when your voice fades Oh your soul shines like a beacon And dear lady when your boy says that he misses you do you hear him? Eastern beauty it’s a strange land, And we’re strangers in this life But dear lady, honest truly, it gets easier now, let it in a little light And you, you’re much stronger, not much longer now ‘til this load comes off your back You can shout now, let it out now, you don’t have to hold- you, you’re much stronger, not much longer now ‘til this load comes off your back, you can shout now, let it out now, You don’t have to hold back, have to hold back Mariana, listen to me You don’t have to hold back
8.
I never thought I’d be where I am so who knows where we’ll be tomorrow? I think now and then of my younger self, a sweet green girl with her joy and her sorrow I work every day to make her proud, her voice was broken so I sing aloud Every moment of the day that I second-guess every step I’ve taken to where I stand Is a moment borrowed, is a moment blessed by a sweet green girl with a pen in her hand, I work every day to make her proud, her voice was broken so I sing aloud I work every day to make her proud, her voice was broken so I sing aloud I speak to the world with a voice I’ve earned, spread my seeds in fertile soil, Young minds listen and young minds learn while our old hearts cool and our old blood boils I work every day to make her proud, her voice was broken so I sing aloud I work every day to make her proud, her voice was broken so I sing aloud I work every day to make her proud Her voice was broken so I sing aloud
9.
Ready-O 02:49
Rode the enterprise today out of town and far away Yeah, I took that train alone, cos it seemed like time that I got gone Oh girl, when you know, yeah you know it’s time to go? You gotta be ready-o, you gotta be ready-o, you gotta be ready, oh, You gotta be ready-o, you gotta be ready-o, you gotta be ready, oh... Felt the four winds pulling at my sleeve Ever fibre urging me to leave And the fibre makes a tapestry For a grander plan Oh girl, when you know, yeah you know it’s time to go? You gotta be ready-o, you gotta be ready-o, you gotta be ready, oh, You gotta be ready-o, you gotta be ready-o, you gotta be ready, oh... It’s not charitable or kind, not to tell him what’s on your mind You gotta be ready-o, you've gotta be ready-o, you gotta be ready, oh, You gotta be ready-o, you gotta be ready-o, you gotta be ready, oh, You gotta be ready-o, you gotta be ready-o, you gotta be ready, oh, You gotta be ready-o, you gotta be ready-o, you gotta be ready, oh... You've got to be ready-o, you gotta be ready-o, you gotta be ready, oh…
10.
You know the funny thing about the day you realise who or what you are Is that by the time it happens you're prob'ly not that anymore And the funny thing is logic states for things to break they first must fall And like any small or precious thing, you give nothing or you give all I can't give you any more than that, I don't trust my clumsy feet not to make me fall flat and the heart's the only muscle tissue - little known fact - that don't know how to heal itself if you cut it in half so don't cut it in half we spend our days in endless cycles of lust to oxytocin never stopping to think about the space between us that we've chosen well I can give my mouth, and my ear, but I can't give you my hand cos though you're oh so understanding you can never understand I can't give you any more than that, I don't trust my clumsy feet not to make me fall flat and the heart's the only muscle tissue - little known fact - that don't know how to heal itself if you cut it in half so don't cut it in half so I will hand you cellotape and superglue, and staples and I'll help you hold the pieces in place til you're fit and able I can never be a surgeon cos my stomach's far from strong but I hope my bedside sympathies suffice to help you moving on I can't give you any more than that, I don't trust my clumsy feet not to make me fall flat and the heart's the only muscle tissue - little known fact - that don't know how to heal itself if you cut it in half so don't cut it in half no don't cut it in half I can't give you anymore than that
11.
You fell into his arms that night, I watched as you gave in To vanity and loneliness and all your buried thoughts of him, And darkness overcame you as you tangled up in sheets Oh, what a tangled web you weave; you’re so practiced in deceit You’ve got a demon, darling; It’s hungry for the kill And oh if you don’t slay it now, Perhaps you never will, You never will. You followed him out of the dark To where your eyes could meet And danced to music in your head and toe to toe you shared a beat So easily you drifted into some adopted dream Where nothing else existed out beyond your blinding street-light’s beam You’ve got a demon, darling; It’s hungry for the kill And oh if you don’t slay it now, perhaps you never will, You never will When you awoke he’d left you with the love you’d left behind, And an olive branch around your wrist was all he left to ease your mind You’ve got a demon, darling; It’s hungry for the kill And oh if you don’t slay it now, Perhaps you never will, You never will.
12.
Free To Fall 03:24
Chorus: Do you love me like you did before, before we fell apart? Tell me what to do to prove that I won't break your heart. If it's just a case of time I'll wait and hope you come around, And when the fire can't be found I'll set you free to fall again If the fire can’t be found I’ll set you free to fall again Hey I’m sorry to be calling late, I know you need to sleep, But I had to get the message straight before it runs too deep: See I let my mind go wanderin’ getting lost on guided tours But I'm home and if you'll have me - Head and heart and hand - I'm yours [Chorus] Hey, I'm sorry to sound mental, this might all be in my head But I had to make it clear to you in case I wake up dead: See I know I played your achey-breaky like a broken track, But I want to fix the scratches now if you'll just have me back [Chorus] Hey, I'm sorry that this message, so explicitly for you, Might be heard around the world if it takes that just to get through And you embarrass easy, so yeah... Dick move on my part, But would you love me like you did before, before we fell apart? [Chorus]
13.
I bear scars you don't care to see, They're not in clear view but they're so dear to me And those are scars I would not remove for that I have loved and lost they are my proof And if we go out dancing tonight, I want you to know that it's alright, You can dance with whoever you want to, it's fine, I am not yours, and you are not mine. She watches him watch her crossing the floor And we all know you'd love to have kissed her once more But that auld love was never to be: You were not yourself and she was not me, You were not yourself, and I set you free. So if we go out dancing tonight, I want you to know that it's alright: You can dance with whoever you want to, it's fine, I am not yours, and you are not mine, I am not yours and you are not mine, I am not yours and you are not mine. Heartbreak and liquor play games inside your head Signs are made, and signs are misread, and I'm sorry my boy, but I have been here before, and you bear the markings of a boy I could adore; And I will only break your heart in turn, and that is sure, So if we're dancing I'm best left ignored. And if we go out dancing tonight, I want you to know It's fine, it's alright: You can dance with whoever you want to, it's fine, I am not yours, and you are not mine x 5 So if I am not yours, then you are not mine, No if I am not yours, then you are not mine, Now if I am not yours then you are not mine So if I am not yours therefore you are not mine.

about

Track List:

1. Birdsong
Choir: Niamh Farrell, Sadbh Ní Shúilleabháin, Cari Q, Jess Leen, Ruth Smith, Alma Kelliher

2. Sailor's Wife

3. He Came From the Sea

4. The Winding Way Down to Kells Bay

5. Port Na nPúcaí - Alec Brown

6. Sowing Acorns (feat. Vanessa Ifediora)

7. Mariana

8. Song For My Younger Self

9. Ready O

10. Goodbye Hawaii

11. Demon Darling

12. Free To Fall

13. You Are Not Mine (AKA This Song Isn't About You, You Lying Bollix)

Donal Scannell - "Emma has unlocked the power of voice in a way that will resonate for aeons"

Janis Ian - “I absolutely love her music, and the way she thinks… She’s someone I hope to work with myself one day… I wish I’d discovered Emma Langford sooner; now I have all this catching up to do!”

Aidan Butler, RTÉ Radio 1 - "the album is everything I was hoping for - beautiful songs, great variety for radio, and brilliant musicians bringing them to life"

Tony Clayton Lea / Irish Times - "distinctive, individual"; "compelling, charming and totally assertive";
www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/emma-langford-sowing-acorns-review-limerick-folk-singer-growing-in-stature-1.4354469

Irish Independent - "an impressive, eclectic offering... arresting and defiant"

Journal of Music - "As gentle and harmonious as it is in sound and mood, this second album is strong and bold in sentiment, as she proclaims in the first few minutes of the album, ‘My own self is my own, I am strong as my bones’."
journalofmusic.com/criticism/theres-strength-song

Headstuff - "Emma Langford’s sophomore effort, Sowing Acorns, shows a maturity in songwriting and arrangement, with lavish instrumentals laying a foundation befitting her always enchanting vocal and deft lyricism." www.headstuff.org/entertainment/music/review-emma-langford-sowing-acorns/


RTÉ Radio 1, Arena - "one of the best female voices I've heard in years" - Brian Boyd www.rte.ie/radio/radioplayer/html5/#/radio1/11234714

Louise O’Neill / Irish Examiner - "The second album from Emma Langford showcases her prodigious song-writing talent and beautiful voice"

Folk Radio UK - "Emma Langford has delivered a mature, assured and eminently listenable album, frothing with melodic charm and lyrical intrigue." www.folkradio.co.uk/2020/10/emma-langford-sowing-acorns/

Golden Plec - "Emma Langford has produced a collection and variety of songs that exhibit her polished songcraft which continues to develop with superb results." www.goldenplec.com/album-reviews/emma-langford-sowing-acorns/

The Last Mixed Tape - "Langford [is] clearly establishing her growth as an artist via a stylistically bold sonic palette" thelastmixedtape.com/2020/09/13/review-its-the-meaning-and-message-that-is-most-essential-emma-langford-sowing-acorns/

credits

released September 18, 2020

Artists:
Emma Langford, Alec Brown, Maria Ryan, Lucia MacPartlin, Aodán Coyne, Fiachra Hayes, Kealan Kenny, Peter Hanagan, Ray Yrure, Davey Long, Vanessa Ifediora, Jessica Leen, Niamh Farrell, Ruth Smith, Cari Q, Sive, Alma Kelliher

Produced by Chris O'Brien & Graham Murphy at The Production Suite, Dublin

Mastered by Richard Dowling, Wav Mastering, Limerick, Ireland

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Emma Langford Limerick, Ireland

Emma is a Limerick-based songwriter with strong folk, traditional influences that shine through her work

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