Emma worked closely with Grammy-nominated duo Chris O’Brien and Graham Murphy of The Production Suite, Dublin, in transforming a simple lullaby into an epic anthem.
“The track started out small - I wrote it to try and calm myself, I was feeling trapped and exhausted and like I was mentally spiralling because I couldn't sleep, and when I did it was restless and disturbed by fever dreams.” she says of the song’s origins, “but when I brought it to studio, I knew I wanted it to be less understated, to have a sense of drama”.
Vanessa Ifediora’s poem, sampled in the track, draws on her own experiences of a condition called Maladaptive Daydreaming, and was published in March 2019 in her first book “Off-White Sheets”, a collection of images and poems detailing her anxieties surrounding recovery from depression.
lyrics
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.
credits
released February 28, 2020
Off-White Sheets written and performed by Vanessa Ifediora
Lyrics & Melody, vocal and guitar: Emma Langford
Pedal steel - Kealan Kenny
Drums - Davey Long
Additional instruments - Graham Murphy
Recorded and produced by Chris O'Brien and Graham Murphy at The Production Suite, Dublin and Golden Egg Studios, Laois
Mastered by Richard Dowling at Wav Mastering, Limerick, Ireland
Alec has been part of my musical life since I first trod the boards in 2016, he's a fantastic composer, arranger and performer - check out his album The Stepping Stone and support his patreon Emma Langford
I've had the great joy and privilege of collaborating with Herb aka Arvo Party a number of times, and his remixes and original work are always tasty and tasteful Emma Langford
supported by 14 fans who also own “Sowing Acorns (Single)”
Her voice is a beautiful instrument, listen you'll see what I'm taking about Great beats, melodies. Not just a great Rap/ Hip Hop album, great album period. BetoR