Birds and a sunset
#5 Small Things & Little Bird
Hi!
I love sunsets. One good thing about sunsets is that they look nice independently of the season. Although spring is showing up quite slow and cold this year, I enjoyed an amazing sunset far up north a few days ago, which I want to share with you.
You might ask yourself now: “Why is he sending me a sunset picture?!”
While sitting on a bench by the lake, watching the clouds changing their colors, I was surrounded by a multitude of birds singing their last songs before the fall of the night. The birds and the sunset represent the link to the two songs, I am sending you today. Both songs, Small Things and Little Bird, were written in spring 2021, which was framed by a loong lockdown period due to the pandemic.
In Small Things, I am trying to focus on the few things that are sure in a time of unpredictable changes.. fortunately, sunsets are. The recording of the song is featured by the great Amelie Tobien, who has released her album Monument these days. Listen to her album here, it’s wonderful!
In some periods of life, I was struggling with the tension of two deep needs pointing in total different directions: my need to feel free and my need of belonging and connection. In a quite intense seminar weekend in spring 2021, I found out that the feeling of belonging and connection is not hindering freedom, it is one central condition for it. Little Bird is the outcome of this insight.
Here you can listen to and download the two songs:
Small Things | mp3 | Spotify | Bandcamp
Little Bird | mp3
Time flies and the release of my album Sway on the 19th of May is coming super close. I can’t wait to play the album and some new songs live! Here are the dates for the concerts:
16th of May 2023 | Salzburg | Off Theater | Get your tickets here
18th of May 2023 | Vienna | Kramladen | Only box office
25th of May 2023 | Innsbruck | Wohnzimmer.Bar with Ines Mag’s | Free donation
30th of May 2023 - Attention, new date! | Hamburg | Pony Bar | Free donation
I am very happy that I will be companied by Lukas Weidmann on the piano at all concerts in Austria. In Salzburg and Vienna the band will be extended by Mario Fartacek on Bass and Julian Pieber on drums and percussion.
If you want to groove your self a little more into my music, you can stop by my Youtube-Channel, where you can find all of the music videos I released so far, for example a live session of my song Lola.
Since Sway is going to be released soon, you’ll receive the last soundletter of this journey next month. Amongst other things, it’s gonna be filled with pictures documenting the production process and information about the album artwork.
Excited springtime greetings to all of you
MJ
Small Things
I wrote that song on my granny Lola’s balcony in the middle of the long lockdown in spring 2021 just a few months before she passed away. It already seems a little surreal that my journey from Vienna to Murau was not even allowed back then. How good, that these days are over now!
The song is expressing my longing for a time of dancing through the night and traveling around. To deal with the restrictions, I tried to focus on and be grateful for the things that were possible, even if they were small.
On the recording of the song Amelie is singing together with me, Lukas is on the piano, Mario on the bass and Robin on the Drums.
If you ask me, the chorus of Small Things is one of my catchiest, so have a listen.
Lyrics
Breathing the breeze of world
When I leave it all behind
The sound of high life
Is long gone
I close my eyes to see inside
I close my eyes to see
All the small things are big now
Is what you say when the sun goes down
What time brings no one knows
All I know is the sun goes down
The sun goes down
The sun goes down
All I know is the sun goes down
Feeling the sweat on my skin
when I dance the whole night through
The sound of nightlife
Is long gone
I close my eyes to see inside
I close my eyes to see
All the small things are big now
Is what you say when the sun goes down
What time brings no one knows
All I know is the sun goes down
The sun goes down
The sun goes down
All I know is the sun goes down
Another day, another time
Another way is in my mind
Another day, another time
Another way to feel fine
Another day in another time
All the small things are big now
Is what you say when the sun goes down
What time brings no one knows
All I know is the sun goes down
The sun goes down
The sun goes down
All I know is the sun goes down
The sun goes down
The sun goes down
All I know is the sun goes down
Oh, oh the sun goes down
Little Bird
As I already wrote, I found out that the feeling of belonging and connection is not hindering freedom, it is one central condition for it. This insight was quite mind blowing for me, since I always thought that I wouldn’t be able to get these needs together.
While I am writing this in a train back to Vienna, I realize that I forgot to record the bird singing by the lake. So I am sending you to walk to a forest nearby to where you are. Real birdsongs are much nicer than recorded ones ;)
Little Bird is the only song on the album that I recorded on my little Guitalele. The birds singing in the intro are - a little unromantic - some inkognito ones from an online library. The weird sound in the instrumental part singing “ohoh” is my voice in different layers and pitches, played in reverse.
Lyrics
Little bird, I let you fly
Wherever your wings take you
Little bird, I will not cry
Whenever your kiss turns blue
I open my hand
You open your wings
My feet in the sand stand still
I start to feel free
You start to believe
We trust and we breathe this air
Little bird, go find your way
Wherever your dreams take you
Little bird, I’m gonna stay
And think of our yesterday
I open my hand
You open your wings
My feet in the sand stand still
I start to feel free
You start to believe
We trust and we breathe this air
Today we let us leave and see
See the world and how it’s gonna be
One day you will return to me
We feel close, we feel free
We feel close, we feel free
I open my hand
You open your wings
My feet in the sand stand still
I start to feel free
You start to believe
We trust and we breathe this air