The video about Rory is GORGEOUS. It blew me away. And... geez, favorite Josh Ritter songs? Got eighteen hours? ;-D I kid. Sort of. ~ahem~
* "Kathleen" - The simple power of this song is that it's hopeful. It's a song about unrequited love, and acceptance that it will always be that way. And it has one of the most beautiful first lines ever: "All the other girls here are stars/You are the Northern Lights/They try to shine in through your curtain/You're too close and too bright." * "Lantern" - It's a song about getting through the darkness, and letting someone light your lantern. The chorus is "Be the light of my lantern/I need light in my lantern." At a concert, as soon as he started singing it, the entire audience revealed they had glowsticks. Josh was, as you can imagine, blown away. It was an awesome sight. :D * "Girl in the War" - Simple, poetic... at first I thought it was a song about soldiers, but it's really about losing someone to an illness. "I got a girl in the war, Paul, I know they can hear me yell/If they can't find a way to help her they can go to hell." * "Thin Blue Flame" - Epic. Just epic. It's a gorgeous saga about a dream, about looking at the world and finding it a crass and dangerous and deadly place and losing hope in heaven... until he wakes up and hears his friends and family. "I wondered what it was I'd been looking for above/Heaven's so big there ain't no need to look up." * "To the Dogs or Whoever" - This one might need a few listens to appreciate, but it's just great. It's noisy and chaotic and beautifully written. Some people think he's listing several girls, but I think "Florence and Calamity and Joan of Arc" are aspects of one single girl. And to understand the title... * "Empty Hearts" - Just a sweet little plea. I listen to it every New Years Eve at midnight. "Don't let me into this year with an empty heart..." and "I'm inside with my friends/We build fires and pretend/That the night could just bend on forever/While outside in the frost/Are the wolves and the lost/And we sing to the dogs or whoever."
I think that'll keep you busy for a while. I have all of his albums and I'd be happy to share. :D
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-11-21 07:15 pm (UTC)* "Kathleen" - The simple power of this song is that it's hopeful. It's a song about unrequited love, and acceptance that it will always be that way. And it has one of the most beautiful first lines ever: "All the other girls here are stars/You are the Northern Lights/They try to shine in through your curtain/You're too close and too bright."
* "Lantern" - It's a song about getting through the darkness, and letting someone light your lantern. The chorus is "Be the light of my lantern/I need light in my lantern." At a concert, as soon as he started singing it, the entire audience revealed they had glowsticks. Josh was, as you can imagine, blown away. It was an awesome sight. :D
* "Girl in the War" - Simple, poetic... at first I thought it was a song about soldiers, but it's really about losing someone to an illness. "I got a girl in the war, Paul, I know they can hear me yell/If they can't find a way to help her they can go to hell."
* "Thin Blue Flame" - Epic. Just epic. It's a gorgeous saga about a dream, about looking at the world and finding it a crass and dangerous and deadly place and losing hope in heaven... until he wakes up and hears his friends and family. "I wondered what it was I'd been looking for above/Heaven's so big there ain't no need to look up."
* "To the Dogs or Whoever" - This one might need a few listens to appreciate, but it's just great. It's noisy and chaotic and beautifully written. Some people think he's listing several girls, but I think "Florence and Calamity and Joan of Arc" are aspects of one single girl. And to understand the title...
* "Empty Hearts" - Just a sweet little plea. I listen to it every New Years Eve at midnight. "Don't let me into this year with an empty heart..." and "I'm inside with my friends/We build fires and pretend/That the night could just bend on forever/While outside in the frost/Are the wolves and the lost/And we sing to the dogs or whoever."
I think that'll keep you busy for a while. I have all of his albums and I'd be happy to share. :D