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Secrets of Birds

by Hilary Downes

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1.
Caldera 03:59
They walked around the blue abyss Formed by collapse of land Stood at its edge and shared a kiss Admired it -- took a picture, hand in hand There were two islands in the water Two colonies of green They peeked above the surface To see what from below could not be seen One could predict That the love they felt was equal to the harm they could inflict And they were reminded Away it fell Its ripples told their secrets Its reflection threw them back upon themselves A series of eruptions Had left a gaping hole Two gods destroyed a mountain Was it nature’s course or something to console In a world where walked the wounded She’d gone to war and died two times As long as fear consumed him He would perpetrate the same old crimes There is no doubt You strangled your agonies while I was forced to shout But you couldn’t hear me Waters profound More deep than they are clear A basin that could only cradle tears
2.
Deep Well 02:03
He was a useless dreamer She had a fierce desire Love obscured their differences Til romance did expire Thought that he could live In his imagination Denied the things she couldn’t forgive Was prone to exaggeration Sang every song, both old and new About going out to sea Delusion deep as ocean blue About the man he’d never be Songs of the sea betrayed him Songs of the sea had lied Everything gone terribly wrong Despite how hard he tried Would that she could hold the night Cold and without wind To hold all of it oh so tight Until it let her in The heart it has a vastness An ocean that can’t be held Accommodates both life and death The heart is a deep well The heart is a deep well The heart is a deep well
3.
Walking upon Your heart’s plateau Exposed to the sun, Rain and the snow Sky wide above Ocean swells below Tectonic plates collide Hot lava flows Wind may scatter sands of doubt On this landscape Within and without Stand still, listen, you will hear My heartbeat, always near Waters erode The stones we can’t move Ground will change As only time can prove
4.
Baby it’s no joke The element is near These embers hours do stoke The recipe is clear We are just two parts We both live in our shells United in our hearts Cast in iron we swell Pleasure here is infinite When the chef is able Loving concentration makes Masters of the table Pleasure here is infinite When the chef is able Loving concentration makes Masters of the table Peasants princes presidents Develop your own style Midwifes minstrels magicians Trial after trial Peasants princes presidents Develop your own style Midwifes minstrels magicians Trial after trial Tossed into the dark Stirred by fate’s long limbs Practice all the moves Until the fire dims A tender golden oval Where our souls collide Smooth and savory Our nourishment and pride Pleasure here is infinite When the chef is able Loving concentration makes Masters of the table Pleasure here is infinite When the chef is able Loving concentration makes Masters of the table
5.
The Owl 02:59
Strange and wonderful Under cover of night Possessed with perception In the dim light Silently flying you are Elusive and feathered and far A sign of good luck Augur of demise Inspiring legends Puzzling and wise You’re not as big as you seem I met you once in a dream Carry what you caught All the broke goods that you bought You see everything Diving high Your beauty stings Long in the legs Face shaped like a heart Thrust your feet forward Toes spread apart There is a hole in your chest Reject what you can’t digest Eternal ghost bird You call as you please Resting and hidden Alone in the trees Surprising prey on the ground Devouring what you have found
6.
Born of noble name Nine heads high he went Wielded a mighty blade And a faculty for scent Left long shadows in the sand His arms, wings of a plane He was Davinci’s man His soul dwarfed by his frame The desert was his prison and The road became his fate Entangled in his freedom Trapped in his own escape Twenty-four palms would make a man Sure as the moon would rise Scarred were palms of his two hands More grand than he was wise The desert was his prison and The road became his fate Entangled in his freedom Trapped in his own escape Her wishes were his orders So the tall man said Left steering to the hands of god Blind to the road ahead She bled without dying Carried on a wave The cross was on his back Its bearer and its slave The desert was his prison and The road became his fate Entangled in his freedom Trapped in his own. . .
7.
The Gist 04:11
Brand around your neck Lost in remains from a wreck A noose that you escaped You’re a child who never took man’s shape Always wanting more, But never trusting open doors She will give and you will take While the hangman’s on his break This land is ours, this street is main And it’s gentler here, this new terrain Have we arrived at the source We are students of the nature’s course Lady luck, she found her wealth Took it from her former self Queen of the sky, queen of the plain She made herself a nest where birds could lay Hearts would ache and hearts would yearn Slowly, surely, they would learn A body with a thousand burns A juncture with a thousand turns This land is ours, the signs are clear And the source you seek is ever near How you will fail to arrive If gallows keep you ever tied This land is ours, the signs are clear And the source you seek is ever near How you will fail to arrive If gallows keep you ever tied
8.
Save me from these thoughts dive-bomb every part Save me from these doubts Dissecting my heart Shouldn’t do this anymore you occupy my head set me free, find a cure occupy my bed I will be loved Its motives blurred But my heart’s a real thing It knows the secrets of birds Save me from these thoughts dive-bomb every part Save me from these doubts That burrow in my heart Change your mind, let me know I will hold you near If you love it, let it go tell your secret, tell it clear I will be loved Its ways absurd But my heart’s a real thing It knows the secrets of birds I am not afraid Of what birds say I am not afraid of the darkness in my way Tiny birds that swarm our heads Catch the end and pull the thread Tiny birds that swarm our heads Unravel thoughts and sing instead Sing instead
9.
The Word 04:12
Everything had to be a game A game is something you do instead of Everyone would end up the same What do you care You just keep us down here Is it real what they say of the soul Is it true that it sticks to the body If I want to get out of this world I’ll stay out late ride my bike search for treasure She had a black hole inside her Floating and plunging, at the same moment Hole drilled a tunnel right through her Was it her parents’ fault Or was life just difficult Is it true what they say about growing You become what you are if you are what you are If I want to get out of this world I’ll lie behind clouds, just like the moon does Couldn’t fight the tide any longer Even strong swimmers get tired and drown Needed somewhere to belong Nevermind where if currents are gentle Is it real what they say of the heart If you cut it open, you’d find a word carved there If I want to get out of this world May the word in my heart be harmony
10.
Rainbow 03:27
Together we are flying south When you speak, it’s colorful Rainbows emerge from your mouth Reflections, mystical Shards of glass A broken day Are we dreaming Is this real Deflects and bends and twists its way Passage light will steal We float through space and time Flock together, fall apart We are particles sublime Showing glimpses of our hearts Hope is forged with fragile things Which you internalize Without feathers, without wings Let your story crystallize All the dawns we’ll never see In search of nourishment Migration might set us free Give rise to soul’s ascent We soar through space and time With the muscle in the chest We are particles divine Powers wings and all the rest

about

After performing and recording with The Snow throughout NYC for six years, Hilary joined The Bushwick Book Club - which invites musicians to write and perform original songs inspired by selected books.

A few tracks were co-written and performed at the book club with Dylan Nowik of Steady Sun - who also helped engineer, performed on and mixed the album. The rest were composed independently of the book club - simply extracted from the gluttonous jaws of life. Among them are a Bossa Nova-inflected meditation on the making of an omelette, inspired by Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking; a plaintive country shuffle about an earthquake; and a gypsy jazz ode to a charming and complicated man in Brooklyn at the turn of the century.

A handful of long-time musical friends gathered on a beautiful leafy hilltop in Putnam County, New York in June of 2016 to record the album. The songs give voice to an inward journey, evoked by the natural world and the human animals within it. The album as a whole represents this journey as a completed cycle of the self.

credits

released January 28, 2017

Hilary Downes
“Secrets of Birds”

Musicians
Matt Brandau: electric bass, upright bass
Mike Cohen: guitar
Hilary Downes: vocals, piano, percussion
Dylan Nowik:
lead guitar on “The Owl” and “The Gist”
additional guitar on “Masters of the Table” and “The Word”
backing vocals on “Deep Well” and “The Word”
percussion
Karl Meyer: violin
Jeffrey Schaeffer: drums
Sara Stalnaker: cello

Additional Musicians
Pierre de Gaillande: percussion on “Hearts Plateau”

Recorded by Pierre de Gaillande and Dylan Nowik at California Hill Studios in Carmel, New York, and by Dylan Nowik at The Dekalb Palace in Brooklyn, New York.
Mixed by Dylan Nowik
Mastered by Chicky Reeves at Sublime Recording Studios, London, UK

Photos by Naomi White
Assisted by Ethan Christy
Styling by Laura Escalante
Hair and Makeup by Katie Wedlund
Album Design by John Leamy

Photos shot at California Hill, Carmel, New York, 2016

All songs by Hilary Downes (c 2017 BMI)
except

“The Gist,” music and lyrics by Hilary Downes and Dylan Nowik
"Masters of the Table" music by Hilary Downes and Dylan Nowik
“The Word,” music by Hilary Downes and Dylan Nowik

secretsofbirds.com
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Hilary Downes New York

"Secrets of Birds" is Downes' first solo project. She assembles, produces and leads ensembles for weddings, synchronized swimming performances, parties, fundraisers and other events - and brings chamber concerts to New York Methodist Hospital. She believes in rainbows and black holes. ... more

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