Hand at My Back
The wind blew hard
o’re tree and stone
I walked into the storm
The sky a bruise before me
The barley laying prone
Rows of gold
crushed in the cold
Its song a bitter moan
Pushing straight through
The endless drone
I wrestled with my thoughts
The path once laid before me
Snows long had overblown
My knees came down
on frozen ground
But I was not alone
I felt your
hand at my back
Like the warmth of the sun
It felt just like midsummer
as my strength was done
You brought me fire
When I was barely embers
Now my whole soul remembers
To what it can aspire
With your hand
at my back.
The crystal spires
Were overgrown
I brought about the scythe
The glinting blade before me
Against the winter throne
Algific rite
Welcomed the blight.
I reaped what they had sown.
Beneath still stars
The curse was shown
I advanced as I watched
The silent host before me
Began to move and groan
Without remorse
Knowing the source
Like barley they were mown.
I felt your
hand at my back
Like the warmth of the sun
It felt just like midsummer
as my strength was done
You brought me fire
When I was barely embers
Now my whole soul remembers
To what it can aspire
With your hand
at my back.
I soon came to
‘Mid gelid bone
I sang prayers old and new
Rimy dead piled here before me
With no way to atone
Their sightless eyes
Answered the skies.
As green aurora shone
I felt your
hand at my back
Like the warmth of the sun
It felt just like midsummer
as my strength was done
You brought me fire
When I was barely embers
Now my whole soul remembers
To what it can aspire
With your hand
At my back
——–
FAWM26 NOTES
This is a song about realizing who’s there for you, and knowing that they’re there for you, with you, even when you think that you’re alone.
You can always draw on the strength of people who love you.
This song is about an adventurer who has to take care of a blight of bitter cold. She’s alone, but when she falters, she’s given strength from those who are far away from her, allowing her to carry on, do the work, and start back home.
It was initially inspired by a moment I had recently when my best friend literally had a hand on my back during an intense (in a good way) moment. The feeling of his huge hand giving me stability has been something I’ve continued to feel, long after that moment passed. I’ve always known that hand was there, but I’ve not had cause to think of it so literally before.
It’s also partly dedicated to my D&D group, who are currently on a freezing island hoping to save the world and not die in the process. So that setting was on my mind – the epic fields swept with snow, the places where there’s nothing but trickery and desperation. And as long as one of us is there, we’re all there. Characters develop interesting relationships, and one of our group has been traveling for work, and I really miss his character (and him too, of course!) My husband is our game master, and I know that I have his hand at my back too – both in and out of game.
#electronic #electropop #nerdfolk
I wanted to start it with a nod to some of the fantasy epic prog rock songs, so the little acoustic guitar riff seemed perfect. Ultimately, I wanted it to be more modern, because that’s how it felt it wanted to be. It’s all done in LogicX with a mix of stock loop bits and a little hand played midi.