| Murders | |
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| Written by | Joe Hawley |
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| Appears on | Hawaii: Part II |
| Sung by | Joe Hawley |
| Duration | 3:43 |
| Genre | World[1] |
| Language | English |
| Links: | Youtube Spotify Bandcamp Instrumental (Bandcamp) Demo (Bandcamp) 2009 Demo (YouTube) 1949 Steinway Samples (Bandcamp) Vocal Effects (Bandcamp) |
Murders is a song by Joe Hawley. It is the 5th track on the album Hawaii: Part II.
History
Inspiration
During a 2019 interview, Joe said the melody was inspired by a dream sequence in The Beatles' film Magical Mystery Tour and a Lied by Franz Schubert titled Erlkönig.[2]
Recording
This song was originally conceptualized during Tally Hall's Good & Evil writing phase. However, the song was nixed by Tony Hoffer when he heard them play it.[2] Its alleged it was played once live during one of Tally Hall's 3 gigs at Union Hall in Brooklyn during the month of February 2009, but its possible this is false or just bad memory.
When asked on the 2018 Reddit AMA how Bora got the piano tone during the bridge section he replied:
"I recorded the piano part first. Then I played that recording through my speakers, pointing directly at my piano strings. Leaving a barbell on the sustain pedal to keep them resonating, I recorded the piano strings as the speakers played the piano part."[3]
Trivia
- The bridge interpolates part of "All or Nothing at All", most famously performed by Frank Sinatra.
- Joe has yet to directly kill anyone, to his knowledge.[2]
- Murders lately has trended on the social media site TikTok, specifically the "all for nothing at all" segment. However, the sound most use is oddly slowed down and has added reverb.
- This song is theorized to be about to lore around the fae courts (fairies), the erlking name would refer to the king of the fairies, known for stealing the souls of children. Specifically he only appears to someone who is about to die and only them, which makes sense as to why he found the forest and she found the erlking.[citation needed]
Lyrics
He was in the forest looking to see the trees But none were there He found a girl She found the Erlking They were in the white wood Gamboling out to picnic In the light leaves broke above Then fell below I was in the middle ground Looking to find the Flowers in the garden Wearying of the hate me hate me not Wait they forgot Woe oh the rot Deeper in they crept Oblivious of the bears and darker terrors Or none were there How did they dare I was in the middle ground Looking to find the Fountain of infinite mirror Tree falling no one would hear Shadow of nobody there Murders of murderers living in fear of it Owls on the night watch Solemn and easily wise to what we thought They thought above Sound broke below They were in the black wood Coveting indiscreetly her for him Or him for her Shown what they were I was in the middle ground Looking to find the Fountain of infinite mirror Tree falling no one would hear Shadow of nobody there Murders of murderers living in fear of it I was in the clearing Buzzing around to hearing but the Bees & birds who knew the words Soon arrived the twilight Finally the night & day remembered How they came to be All for nothing at all All for nothing at all With something to do I was in the forest looking to see the trees But none were there
Demo lyrics
I was in the forest looking to see the trees But none were there I found a girl She found the Erlking We were in the white wood Gamboling out to picnic In the light leaves broke above Fruit fell below I was in the middle ground Looking to find the Flowers in the garden Wearying of the hate me hate me not Wait we forgot Woe oh the rot Deeper in we crept Oblivious of the bears and darker terrors Or none were there Why did we dare I was in the middle ground Looking to find the Fountain of infinite mirror Evergreen falling that no one can hear Shadow of nobody there Murder of murderers living in fear of it Owls on the night watch Solemn and ever wise to what we thought They thought above Sound broke below We were in the black wood Coveting indiscreetly her for me And me for her Shown what we were I was in the middle ground Looking to find the Fountain of infinite mirror Evergreen falling that no one can hear Shadow of nobody there Murder of murderers living in fear of it I was in the clearing Humming along to hearing all the Bees & birds who knew the words Soon arrived the twilight Finally the night & day remembered How they came to be All for nothing at all And all for nothing at all With something to do I was in the forest looking to see the trees But none were there
Credits
Engineered by Bora Karaca at the Laboratory in Beverly Hills, CA
Music & Lyrics: Joe Hawley
Vocals: Joe Hawley
Electric Bass & Guitar: Bora Karaca
Player Piano Programming: Bora Karaca
Violin: Jay Golden, Alyson Montez
References
| Hawaii: Part II | |
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