Colin oh!
This is so pure and lovely that I was fighting back tears the first time I listened to it. What a wonderful version. Kudos to Sean Gramophone for putting this on his list of best 100 tracks from 2023, as I would not have found it otherwise. It's Friday now. Have a lovely weekend. You have improved mine immeasurably. x
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Mei and I have been fortunate enough to write and arrange a version of the song that introduced me to bossa nova. The reimagined cover, self released under Public Confession Art House, sonically and thematically honors Jobim's original conceit.
lyrics
A stick, a stone, it's the end of the road
It's the rest of a stump, it's a little alone
It's a sliver of glass, it is life, it's the sun
It is night, it is death, it's a trap, it's a gun
The oak when it blooms, a fox in the brush
The nod of the wood, the song of a thrush
The wood of the wing, a cliff, a fall
A scratch, a lump, it is nothing at all
It's the wind blowing free, it's the end of the slope
It's a bean, it's a void, it's a hunch, it's a hope
And the riverbank talks of the Waters of March
It's the end of the strain, it's the joy in your heart
The foot, the ground, the flesh and the bone
The beat of the road, a sling-shot stone
In a truckload of bricks in the soft morning light
The shot of a gun in the dead of the night
A mile, a must, a thrust, a bump
It's a girl, it's a rhyme, it's a cold, it's the mumps
The plan of the house, the body in bed
And the car that got stuck, it's the mud, it's the mud!
Afloat, adrift, a flight, a wing
A cock, a quail, the promise of spring
And the riverbank talks of the Waters of March
It's the promise of life, it's the joy in your heart
A point, a grain, a bee, a bite
A blink, a buzzard, a sudden stroke of night
A pin, a needle, a sting, a pain
A snail, a riddle, a wasp, a stain
And the riverbank talks of the Waters of March
It's the promise of life, it's the joy in your heart
A snake, a stick, it is John, it is Mei
A fish, a flash, a silvery glow
And the riverbank talks of the Waters of March
It's the promise of life in your heart, in your heart
Psycho, sycophant
A rant, a rave
A goat, a lamb
A siren, a scream
The ocean, the sand
A friend, a cop
A car, a crash
My hand, a slap
A cloud, a storm
A star, a way
A charm, a future
A song, a snake
A stick, a stone, the end of the load
The rest of a stump, a lonesome road
A sliver of glass, a life, the sun
A night, a death, the end of the run
And the riverbank talks of the Waters of March
It's the end of all strain, it's the joy in your heart
credits
released March 30, 2023
Originally written by Antonio Carlos Jobim
Reimagined and Performed by John Roseboro and Mei Semones
Coproduced by Luke Jr
Michael Barnes on Bass
Daniel Robinson on Tenor Saxophone
Reid Deveraux on Trombone and Piano
Isac Jamba on Drums and Percussion
Cover Photo taken at TWA
Edits by Caleb Dudley and Juliana Chahayed
Public Confession Art House
supported by 9 fans who also own “Waters of March”
Like so many others, this came like a bolt out of the blue and, even though it's well before payday, I had to have this astonishing album on vinyl to prove it exists. The feel of the tunes makes me feel like the Impressions do, Curtis Mayfield, the big spaces and instinctive horns and stuff drifting in and out. Great grooves and I can see lots of ghosts nodding along to this with big smiles on their faces. At last! Anthony Cottrell
