B i o g r a p h y (by Official Site)
Seemingly living up to its name--the collective of musicians, lovingly christened "Jesse Sykes And The Sweet Hereafter" in 2001 was born out of a chance meeting a few years earlier in Seattle Washington, and led to an enduring musical partnership, spanning more than a decade- that continues to this day. Jesse Sykes and The Sweet Hereafter have traveled extensively in both the US and in Europe, and have had the pleasure of touring with: Black Mountian, Earth, Sparklehorse (rip), Bright Eyes, Iron And Wine, Marissa Nadler, Laura Veirs, J. Tillman, Great Lake Swimmers, and many more.They have shared the stage with acts on opposite ends of a vast spectrum of genres, ranging from Sunno))), Boris, Nicolai Dunger, Coco Rosie all the way to Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch. The core still remains singer-songwriter Jesse Sykes and guitarist/ writer Phil Wandscher. Past and sometimes present members have included long timer William "Bill" Herzog, Eric Eagle, Anne Marie Ruljanchic and Kevin Warner. All three previous releases in the US are on Barsuk Records, and in Europe all releases remain on Fargo Records. The most recent album "Marble Son" was self released in the states in 2011 and is the bands fourth full length. Over the years they have worked with the wise ears of Tucker Martine, Martin Feveyear, Mell Dettmer, and Randall Dunn.
Reckless Burning Doralee Lonely Still Your Side Now Don't Let Me Go Drinking With Strangers Made Of Wood Love Me Someday Lullaby
Eisenhower Moon LLL You Might Walk Away Air Is Thin Spectral Beings How Will We Know Hard Not to Believe Aftermath Station Grey I Like the Sound Morning, It Comes Open Halls of the Soul
Dewayne In the Summertime The Sinking Belle (Blue Sheep) Weary Blues From Waiting
Reckless burning Reckless burning Pretty thing, i've got you Right where i used to be We ride across this city Starting fires recklessly And everything is closing But tonight, we'll stay awhile And if this darkness lingers I'll fall to you just like a child Pretty thing, i've got you Right where this trouble lands With reckless burning I have been charged again Pretty thing, i've got you Right where i used to be We ride across this city Starting fires recklessly Goodnight, irene Doralee Doralee, there's water in the basement. Saturday, you'll be sleepin' in the tree. Gone are the weeds that you tended to like children. Gone are the days, the distance between. Doralee, there's gravel in your bath tub. Fish swam free before their ocean went. Once loved a man whose heart was big and open. He said he could see the beauty in a song. Doralee, there are flies among the dead now. Fish swam free, looking for their ocean moon. Once loved a man whose heart was big and open. He said he could see the beauty in a song.
Lonely still This is where my ship has run aground Stuck in the mud of the puget sound I came from the great lakes And i watched them turn dry The sky turned black & i cried I never thought heartbreak would follow me 'round Well, i'm lonely Well, i'm lonely still Hammered hearts tired of being young It wasn't you, it could have been anyone I came from the great lakes And i saw them turn dry The sky turned black & i cried I never thought heartbreak would follow me 'round Well, i'm lonely Well, i'm lonely still Your Side Now
How am I to believe I've lost myself in you Afraid to ask for what I need So I give it to you But I'm on your side now Well, I'm on your side now I'm on your side now I'm on your side now And if I sleep beside the river Will it flood over me? Well, I'm as far away from my life As I could be But I'm on your side now Well, I'm on your side now I'm on your side now I'm on your side now Faith is all we ever need And I can't compete I think on those who care for me Care for me But I'm on your side now Well, I'm on your side now I'm on your side now I'm on your side now
*** Thanx a lot to Michel for this one ***
Don't Let Me Go Keep me, don't let me go, When I'm losing my head. Well, if the angels won't have me, Well, meet me at the bar-room instead. Keep me, don't let me go. Keep me, don't you let me go. Go. Go. Like old Tudor places, Where the lights are all down. And all those beautiful faces, But yours ain't around. Keep me, don't let me go. Keep me, don't you let me go. Go. Go. Go. Night time spent waiting: Well, in the dark we all are fools. This love makes me impatient. Morning takes me too soon. Keep me, don't let me go. Keep me, don't you let me go. Go. Go. Go. Drinking With Strangers Drinking with strangers For the last time And you fell asleep With the smoke in your eyes Hot flashes burning The dust on the blind Gin-soaked and lonely You're fuel for this fire You threw it all away These days You threw it all away These days The Salvation Army Has called out its choir The blankets, the water Can't fix your flat tire
*** Thanx a lot to Michel for this one *** Made Of Wood He said I think you know my name He said I think you know what I came here for And if you don't really like it You walk out that door If you don't really like it You don't have to keep asking for more Right here on this floor He said That I was the only one He said That we would have so much fun Well, I tried and I tried To get back on my foot The lines on my face Tell me that I need sleep again Well, I just pretend He said I think you know my name He said I think you know what I came here for And if you don't really like it You walk out that door If you don't really like it You don't have to keep begging for more Right here on this floor Alice in Wonderland Put out your hand If you were made out of stone I'd know that you'd catch me Oh, if you could 'Cause I'm made of wood
*** Thanx a lot to Michel for this one *** Love Me Someday Love me someday I'll be here As long as the night The moon so bright Well, love me someday I will be here The snow on the roof The parkway's closed The weather was right You'd leave tonight The dangers within And all will be forgiven Love me someday I'll be here As long as the night The moon so bright Well, love me someday I will be here Love me someday I will be here
Lullaby You picked me up, dried me off, You were hopelessly devoted to my darkest hour. Like you, I broke every rule, Just so I'd be close to you. Well, I was just your passenger, Hoping you wouldn't see the sign: said "Funeral parking only." An' if the rain would settle down, Well, maybe we will catch a glimpse of this troubled town. Well it's not hard to forgive, When you're holdin' back a river of drownin'. Well it's not hard to forgive, When you're holdin' back a river of drownin'. Well it's not hard to forgive, When you're holdin' back a river of drownin'. Well it's not hard to forgive, When you're holdin' back a river of drownin'
Oh, my girl
Oh, my girl On a distant hill I get my body to lay still Without my home This work i must do all alone Between them trees Is all the world’s fuckery I begged for light Where you once stood A fever came and i called your name My girl Let’s dance across that sunlit room Oh, my girl I’ll hold you in the afternoon If evening’s kind It’ll give us light to take our time When that treeline’s gone You will know i’ve carried on My girl Let’s dance across that sunlit room Oh, my girl I’ll hold you in the afternoon You are not gotten here No, you are not gotten here We’ve been shut down for some years You waited ‘til the warmth of spring To be let in Oh, there’s fire on your tongue Face of a forgotten one No, you are not gotten here Belle of the sea, carry me There’s a ghost across the room In the afternoon Oh, there’s fire on your tongue Face of a forgotten one Troubled soul My heart knows It needs protection While it grows Somebody show me A place i can go where love’s around A trip to the ocean I just need to get far from town There’s no way around this No way around this No way around this troubled soul Now you’re gone And i stand, i stand Between time Somebody show me A place i can go where love’s around A trip to the ocean I just need to get far from town
The dreaming dead What did i have Oh, what did i have? Search for the diamond Shine through the door What ever i did, lord I would do again Oh, what did i have then? Don’t say it’s over Hilltop leaves turn gold and red Don’t say it’s over Your black eyes remind me Of the dreaming dead Turn up the future Turn off the past Only in your arms Will this fire last What ever i did, lord I would do again Oh, what did i have then? Your eyes told Tin roof shaking, crashing black Well, i ain’t going back Deliver me, take me in Let me breathe your coarse wind Day is empty, night too long River hums a sweet song Every song your lungs sang Every lie your eyes told Canyon whisper, canyon weep I thought you were behind me Tin roof shaking, crashing black Well i ain’t going back Deliver me, take me in Let me breathe your coarse wind Tell the boys Tell my boy I’ve been thinking about him tonight A december’s day, gone astray Well, he took the fall ’Cause some things in life Are still worth a good brawl Two hearts lost in the fray Tell the boys Tell the boys Tell the boys Things we don’t know Words lovers say when they’re letting go Dropped through the arms of a thief The planes fly in low Taking me down past those tracks in the snow A december’s day, gone astray Tell the boys… Birds over water We used to be free Like birds over water Small mysteries Lost and forgotten You kissed the moon And i hugged the sea Troublesome things They fall down on me Fall down on me Drifting back in To the slick again We used to be free Like birds over water
Winter hunter Tell the winter hunter I knew, i knew Nothing of you then And when the snow had melted I was, i was beneath you Still, there is no place Still, there is no place Where was i Where was i . . . Was i? Tell the winter hunter I knew. I knew Of a heart gone still We crossed the tracks that carry And i was, i was beneath you But still, there is no place Still, there is no place House by the lake Fill your pockets full of river stones For us, deep beneath the soul On your stockings a songbird sang Alone, all alone Oh, these things that hold onto me Drag my feet across the sky Oh, these things they don’t belong to me This time, oh this time Baby, it’s time to go To that house down by the lake Baby, it’s time to go To that house down by the lake A beauty all by herself Just floating peacefully Death had forgotten her Like she’s, she’s forgotten me Grow a new heart Could you grow a new heart And could you run the distance In the time that it takes Before it all fell apart? We fell through the cracks Stole the sheets and burned the maps Watched the smoke fly from the stacks Before it all fell apart Particles on the fringe There’s a heaviness, this stillness brings Those twisted palms, oh how they swing Telling tales, young breathless things Things that move on Left wandering where the mystery’s gone We made it ’cross that frozen pond Before it all fell apart
Like, Love, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul
*** Thanx a lot to Pull_to_Bits for these lyrics ***
Eisenhower moon Is this a good place to be If it feels the same, how will we know If it's breaking down If it's breaking down? And will I still find you there? In the stone and wire The disconnect That gets me nowhere That gets me nowhere Yesterday's way tells me more Say what you've said before And tell me what you need to see Half sadness half fury Beautiful at any age Eisenhower moon, hovering Like a weight on the day Like a weight on the day And tell me what you need to see Half sadness and half fury Yesterday's way tells me more Say what you said before Will I still find you there Will I still find you there Will I still find you there LLL
I wanted you to stay On that sun-drenched holiday Two visions on the fly Only you and I How those replicas remind Hollowed out in daydream time On that shadowless drive Beneath the empty sky Those were happy times And forget the few Those quiet fires had nothing on you We almost lost our minds In the bottle's shine Those were happy times Like love lust Sometimes you have to kill The one you trust We could only try Those were happy times Oh so happy Those were happy times Oh so happy Somewhere out there Someone's breaking down the barricade And under a halo or flame Someone else becomes the slave
You might walk away At the reservoir, following A narrow path of light What keeps us coming back for more Is always out of sight And raindrops fall on broken glass On a tender patch of grass And from the ashes of the crash Where all things rest but nothing lasts Cold raindrops fall See the wonder of it all Cold raindrops fall And you might walk away Don't you wish that someone wanted You that way today A catastrophic blunder From which you might walk away Cold raindrops fall See the wonder of it all Cold raindrops fall Something from you I’ve taken I have taken Something from you I’ve taken And you might walk away You might walk away The tendency is to be let go Before you come undone And someday soon they'll light up the woods And you'll see you're not the only one Cold raindrops fall See the wonder of it all Cold raindrops fall And you might walk away And you might walk away And you might walk away And you might walk
The air is thin When nobody listens to you Does your heart remain With the unsettled few That are true Oh, the air is thin Oh, the air is thin For you, my love And something Is happening here again Well stay where you are Stay where you are 'Till the end Oh, the air is thin Oh, the air is thin For you, for you Oh, to let go Of all that you know First you will need To be free Oh, the air is thin Oh, the air is thin For you, for you And the child That follows you in Keeps you awake Pressing wet leaves To your skin Oh, the air is thin Oh, the air is thin For you, for you Oh, the air is thin Oh, the air is thin For you, my love...
Spectral beings Some came here before us And others still arrive Some stand behind The unmarked signs Recognized from time to time And everything is up for grabs The spectral being's stark raving mad In the tender part of the hologram The lights went off and came on again And I held you on the chordless line Everything spinning inside The underlying that does without The lethal punch that knocks you out What binds us, we're all borrowing And what was left, we've traded in And who has the kindest face And where is the one I’ve loved so long So long, so long, so long... How will we know Kind light, find me Inside, baby cries Following the sound, in time Mama please, stay with me How will we know How will we know How will we know Stranger, lost in my garden Blind and dumb, body's broken Say, say, his name to me How will we know How will we know How will we know How will we know...
Hard not to believe It's hard not to believe The tender heart Will fool you so Overflowing matter I am naked, out of reach Silent and complete But it hangs, constantly This division, inside me It's hard not to believe Those floating clouds Up on the ridge Are hungry ghosts in waiting The one that I’m beholden to's Relentless glow has faded Sit down for the feast oh, the one's who need it least It's hard not to believe I was born to be loved in The golden age of chatter That endless rope, it pulls me where The tender-hearted gather Sit down for the feast Oh, the one's who need it least It's hard not to believe Aftermath Walk us through All the remnants of the aftermath The stakes where high I knew But i could not stop Two aimless arrows fell And I motioned you Said this was nothing that Two friends wouldn't do Captured in the afternoon It's better not to give yourself away Give yourself away, away too soon So, sing us your praises It is without regret Some say there's too much love We just haven't found ours yet Station Grey
Station grey Are you still waiting For the children To tumble away Walk us through Fields undivided Feel the weightless Return back to you Down in the valley I've not lost a thing Down here in the valley Where the mission bells ring Two by two The lights shine In the orchard Ask me why I'd Stand in for you And I once knew The feel of a body Satisfied, oh so satisfied When nobody's watching Will you please be kind When nobody's watching Will it be your way or mine Down in the valley I've not lost a thing Down here in the valley Where the mission bells ring Station grey... I like the sound
When the prisoner died Lord, we knew we had failed The black ladies sang And the neighbourhood children wailed Now the siren singers Are about to come out Can we blame ourselves For ever having had a pitch of doubt I like, I like the sound I want to watch you draw infinity Listen to you While you're listening to me 'Cuz I like, I like the sound Morning, it comes Morning, it comes With the good things The day brings A new light To help mend last night And, baby I know This love is a feature lost on us creatures so small And who are the ones That're getting what they need Dressed for this cold century Record me your heart So that I can do my part With ribbons of concerned melody Oh, I saw your love Oh, I saw your love Morning, it comes With the good things The day brings A new light To help mend last night And baby I know That this love is a feature Lost on us creatures so small Oh, us creatures so small... The open halls of the soul Oh, the open halls of the soul I wouldn't be surprised If we never sang this song again No, i wouldn't be surprised If we never sing this song again Only music Sets my soul free My heart's a gem Wrapped up in your song again Hear the branches break Beneath the trees Oh, what will I do If I stop loving you? Oh, the open halls of the soul And I wouldn't be surprised If we never sang this song again The ocean beaches Have all been washed away And i must let you go You show me so 'Most every day Damaged stars fall Silent, to the sea Oh, the lonely life of a fool Of a fool like me
Marble Son
Hushed By Devotion Everything you know so well Is bound by hushed devotion And in the shapes we used to be I remember asking Why mirror all that moves To be soothe, yet still be lacking Leave me as I am today Bound by only one thing Search for warmth out on the fray Yes I remember wanting Two hearts so aligned They’d reach and never resign
Marble son Oh marble son, why can’t I love you more I wish I’d found you beautiful before, before When I was young, I’d have most anyone I only loved what was to come undone Come undone Oh, marble son Who stands beside you They say we are the trees, we’re in the air We are the land, the ocean and the moon We are despair and the happiness That lingers everywhere Will we ever be ourselves again Worried minds in need of silencing I do not wish to be free But I know It’s what needs to be Oh marble son, please let me love you more I wish I’d found you beautiful before Oh, before
Come To Mary Come to Mary, she don’t mind Come to Mary, she don’t mind ’Cause everybody gets to have their time Come to Mary, she don’t mind To everybody left behind To everybody left behind The world feels wicked But I’m feeling fine ’Cause everybody gets to have their time To everybody left behind I’m the one who cannot let go How I long to stand beside her golden glow Come to Mary, she don’t mind Come to Mary, she don’t mind Come to Mary, she don’t mind Come to Mary, she don’t mind Come to Mary, come to Mary Come to Mary, come to Mary...
Servant Of Your Vision Every day I wade through Muddy Waters deep Without this wanting, will I soon be free It’s hard to know, it’s harder not to know And if you lose yourself to love just once more Is the servant of your vision at the door He’s brought shadows for your flowers In the absence of fear, beauty will appear Though this beauty is not mine It’s hard to love, harder not to love Everything that’s ever come before The universe exhales just once more Time for recovery It’s always winter inside every heart of gold Summer hearts just longing for the cold Heat for the young, winter for the old Soul, whose grown tired of his skin Who generates the warmth to rise again If you lose yourself to love just once more Will the servant of your vision kick down the door And bring shadows for your flowers
Ceiling’s High Talk to me The ghost still needs to breathe And sing precious melodies into the air Ceiling’s high And the devil he never came But he still shouts out your name Among the missing The estranged Oh, the missing The estranged Oh, he knows He can’t keep you satisfied Offering delight to ease the longing Overripe Listen to the children sing While precious offerings Are laid upon your head and feet Do you love them ’Cause they are weak Answer me Do you love them ’Cause they are weak ?? Night it came Following behind I love them because they’re mine But there’s a ceiling It’s just been hung For a daughter and a son
Be It Me, Or Be It None Are you the one who sees Are you the one who knows Why we ask ourselves Why we ask ourselves If the feeling’s real Be it me or be it none For now Be it you or be it me Somehow Somehow Somehow There’s nothing left back here For the silent one who stands I will disappear I look inside, I’m loving what I thought I saw I look inside, I’m loving what I thought I saw Be it me or be it none For now Be it me or be it none For now, for now, for now Be it me or be it none For now Be it you or be it me Somehow Somehow
Pleasuring The Divine I was longing to be near The changing sea With repetitious praise And symphonic reverie ?? in a word Eternal and reserved Where I could meld into your side Until the mystery’s satisfied I thought of all we loved And what love wanted of our lives And through a stand of ancient pine We kissed each other’s wives Forever we will spy Forever we will hide Inside the heart of every child Plucked from the bitter vine Life’s seemingly sublime And what more is a man Expected to give When he’s pleasuring the divine
Birds Of Passerine You dream The birds of passerine Where night calls past Every day serene You’re free From the muck caught in the mire Born of light Stillborn of desire Of light But stillborn of desire Some Some they get away While others They find the will to stay And some thrive But are left unsatisfied The world won’t let you go No, the world won’t let you go The world won’t let you go No, the world won’t let you go The world won’t let you go And still we had to cry Oh we cry For the space you occupied
Your Own Kind Does he understand your heart, girl Really understand your heart It’s a rare, rare find To be cared for by your own kind By your own kind To live a life completely To have lived a life complete You must first let go Of everything that you know You must let go And, those heavenly creatures They call out “We are too young to be troubled by this doubt” Do you understand your heart now Really understand your heart It’s a rare, rare kind That isn’t troubled by his own mind A rare, rare kind And, those heavenly creatures They call out “We are too young to be troubled by this doubt” “We are too young to be troubled by this doubt”
Wooden Roses Take care of me Behind a doorway of wooden roses Where nobody goes, Where nobody No body goes Fell into the sea Suspended and broken hearted How I longed for the shore Where love it is A song And nothing more Coiled and refrained From the darkness a silver sermon Collects me from the pain Shall I ask for more Shall I Ask for more When love came to me It brought a sweetness that’s not been found In the hollow ground Where time it is So tall And that is all Where time it is So tall And that is all
Non Albums Tracks
Dewayne I gave you my heart I gave you my song I gave you everything But I'm not around To see you downtown No, I'm drifting down Drifting In our rag tag clothes Down at the pier We'd drink our beer We would call out To those "Nordstrom Gals" With their fancy shoes And their heads in the clouds Their heads in the clouds You hear Baby Gramps Over on Pike Singing into the night Those Chicken Hawks Over on Pine, they wanted a boy Yunger than I Younger than I And if you're alive Lean into the pain Tell me your name My name is Dewayne Dewayne And I gave you my heart I gave you my song I gave you everything But I'm not around To see you downtown No, I'm drifting down Drifting They scattered my ashes in Elliott Bay A wind from the west Blew me away And down from the Strait Of Juan de Fuca Beneath Puget Sound I'm drifting down I'm drifting down Down
In the Summertime ( Gentleness of Nothing EP ) In the summertime, when it all goes down It's a child I've become and a child's feet I'll bow I've made this secret my I've made this secret my own Oh, oh In the summertime, when it all goes down Fires burning wooded thickets on the edge of town And when those fields burn down And when those fields all burn down Oh, oh, all burn down Oh, oh Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin I can see a vision of mountains In the parcel root of a tree And I can hear your voice in the fountains One impatient melody In the summertime, when it all goes down Will I see you in a year when I come back around How many days must I How many years must go by Oh, oh, must go by Oh, oh, must go by Oh, oh, must go by…
*** Thanx a lot to Peri for this one ***
The Sinking Belle (Blue Sheep)
( Sunn O))) and Boris Featuring Jesse Sykes ) Passing by Rose and emeralds In silence I Stand alone And out of you Grey birds fly The gravel path You qualified Pretended to Favor few The walls are fine (?) In hollow time The shape I'm in Oh she knows so well My hearts become Her sinking belle The sinking belle Oh the sinking belle I'm worried now You're worried now I The sinking belle Oh the sinking belle You're worried now You're worried now I We're smaller than We used to be What came from you Is now inside of me Don't ask me why Oh, don't ask me why All my life, All my life Wear in black and white The sinking belle Oh the sinking belle I'm worried now You're worried now The sinking belle The sinking belle I'm worried now You're worried now I The sinking belle h the sinking belle You're worried now You're worried now I
Weary Blues From Waiting (Hank Williams / Hard-Headed Woman: A Celebration of Wanda Jackson LP) The snow falls 'round my window But it can't chill my heart God knows it died the day you left And my dream world fell a part Weary blues from waiting Lord, I've been waiting so long Oh these blues have got me crying Oh sweet daddy, please, come home Through tears I watch young lovers As they go strolling by Oh and all the things that might have been God forgive me if I cry Weary blues from waiting Lord, I've been waiting so long Oh these blues have got me crying Oh sweet daddy, please, come home Oh sweet daddy, please, come home