B i o g r a p h y (by Andrew Leahey)
Although Orenda Fink made her first splash as the songwriting partner of Maria Taylor, she also became a respected bandleader and solo musician in her own right, drawing upon everything from Haitian folk music to pop/rock in the process. Fink and Taylor first launched their partnership as students at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, which led to the formation of Little Red Rocket several years later. When that group disbanded after two albums -- 1997's Who Did You Pay and 2000's It's in the Sound -- due to the dustup of Geffen Records' merger with Universal Music Group, the two decamped to Athens, Georgia, and formed the sulky pop duo Azure Ray. Burn and Shiver While working to get Azure Ray off the ground, the musicians were also recruited to join Now It's Overhead, which brought them to the attention of that band's label -- Saddle Creek -- as well as its co-founder Conor Oberst. In 2001, both Azure Ray and Now It's Overhead released debut records, and Taylor and Fink took up full-time residence in Omaha -- Saddle Creek's home base -- one year later. A second Azure Ray release, Burn and Shiver, followed before 2002 was up.
The pair's third album, 2003's Hold on Love, brought indie scene approval on the merits of the singles "The Drinks We Drank Last Night" and "New Resolution." Meanwhile, Now It's Overhead released another album in 2004 amid heavy touring. Invisible Ones Fink remained active outside of her partnership with Maria Taylor by working with acts like Moby, Bright Eyes, and Japancakes. Accordingly, when Azure Ray split up in 2004, she wasted little time involving herself with other projects, even forming two Saddle Creek bands (O+S and Art in Manila) and releasing material with both. Moreover, she struck out on her own as a solo artist, drawing upon her travels in India, Cambodia, and Haiti to shape the sounds of 2005's Invisible Ones. A second solo effort, the stripped-down Ask the Night, followed in 2009. Later that year, Fink reunited with Taylor for another Azure Ray tour, and the pair released a new album, Drawing Down the Moon, in fall 2010. It would be four years before Fink's third solo album, Blue Dream, materialized in 2014. The lush, ethereal album was inspired by the death of her dog and the songwriter's cryptic dreams that followed that troubling event.
Invisible Ones - 2005-08-23 -
Leave It All Invisible Ones Guard The Gate Bloodline Blind Asylum Les Invisibles Miracle Worker No Evolution Dirty South Easter Island Animal
Invisible Ones Leave It All On a bridge by the mill I lay down my life I open my arms, embrace the night And with no wings to fly, I fell I leave it all, I leave it all The things that I said Take them back if I could The god to whom I prayed Played a trick on me good Now I see his face, it´s just as well I leave it all, I leave it all I leave it all Vanishing into the night I leave it all, I leave it all I leave it all, I leave it all Invisible Ones Guard The Gate Something's happened, now you're far away You had to leave, no time to explain I called Brother said, "Mother's gone The Red Bird came and took her off" I asked, "Will she be in heaven above? All over my shoulder like a carrier dove?" He said, "One, two, three, four, There ain't no devil, there ain't no Lord. Five, six, seven, eight, Only love, only hate." I went to a preacher to seek the truth The wisest man that I knew The preacher had fallen, his colar torn He slept with a bottle, his face unshorn He looked at me with bloodshot eyes A beaten man can tell no lies He said, "Prophets, pimps, angels, whores, There ain't no devil, there ain't no Lord. Money grows to fill the preacher's bank He saves your soul for himself to take." I travelled the world to understand The words he spoke were no man's I came to an island of beauty and pain Shimmering souls, untamed And now the children, talking bright Sing to me in the night They sing, "One, two, three, four, There ain't no devil, there ain't no Lord. Five, six, seven, eight, Invisible ones guard the gate. Invisible ones guard the gate." Bloodline Trace your bloodline They'll take care of you They're still your family No matter what they've done to you And the cold air stings my eyes As I take his hands, he says "Just let your body do the rest" Slave plantation Got a lot of grass It was my own temptation But hey you made a lot of cash And the cold air stings my eyes As I take his hands, he says "Just let your body do the rest" And the church bells ring One million miles away from here Where nobody ever rests It's all over now It's in my soul There's no way out If I catch you breathing And the cold air stings my eyes As I take his hands, he says, "Just let your body do the rest" Just let your body do the rest Just let your body do the rest Just let your body do the rest Blind Asylum I am happy every hour of the day Every hour that I stay In this lighthouse Where the doors don't open Forget what I had once been Only hours before I am happy every hour of each day Every hour I remain In this blind asylum It can't be seen What I'd once been Only hours before Only hours before A demon was all they'd see in me In the morning I'll close my eyes And leave but tonight I am happy Les Invisibles I make it each day With the help of the good Lord But late night I comb the streets Looking for a way to feed Hell came in the way Of a war and a child That never returned He never returned We raise our hands and pray Les invisibles We hold our heads in shame Les invisibles And as my weathered hands Cracked and colored With years of pain Of the brokenhearted Frame their plates Of whiten and gold You take no note Of your warm presenter Would you like to know what I'd done for dinner And I've outlived my boy Just to serve it to you You've waged this war The rich wage wars The rich take more We raise our hands and pray Les invisibles We hold our heads in shame Les invisibles We raise our hands and pray Les invisibles We hold our heads in shame Les invisibles We raise our hands and pray Les invisibles We hold our heads in shame Les invisibles
Miracle Worker A bed of cotton and lace Hair down to her little waist She waits for the sun to go down Her visitors leave back to their Town of pain and grief they'd Laid their hands on her gown And prayed for a miracle The girl works miracles A room of things she's never seen Surrounds her while she sleeps and Reminds us of the child inside A body that's been Barely alive for years And the people, they can't stop their tears As they pray for a miracle The girl works miracles "We heard she works miracles" Her mother shows for all to see Statues cry, walls bleed The desperate ones line up each day Hoping she will take Their pain away One touch of her hand is all they crave And hope for a miracle The girl works miracles "We heard she works miracles" The girl works miracles The girl works miracles No Evolution It was the year of the flood It was the hand of God The strength of a monsoon A revolution I put my hand in the cup Drew my name from the mud I had changed it once before But that didn't change things We still come We still come And we still go But I can't live without you, though I put my face to the glass But it's you that stares back I had changed it once before But that didn't change things The year of the drought It was the hand of God The absence of water Made us fearful After all I could find Were the wells of my mind I had changed it once before But that didn't change things No, no evolution No, no evolution I know there's a circle Of death and birth But I won't wait and lose you To this big black earth I said No, no evolution No, no evolution I put my hand on your face With new laws to replace The ones that say that We must leave each other one day I said... No, no evolution No, no evolution No, no evolution No, no evolution We still came We still come And we still go
Dirty South In a flatbed, in a trailer You are royalty there Among keys and their jailers You speak the truth with open mouth Oh to be a boy In the dirty south In the rec room When the rains came She opened her arms to you You tried to love her well You only ended up in jail Oh the dirty south Is your living hell The trees standing While they sharpen their blades To cut you down Beautiful things can come from The dark I once said and I Hoped that you would believe and Rise up from the ashes but now You've been beaten down By the dirty south So let's give a crown A gold shining crown To the dirty south To be a boy, to be a boy In the dirty south To be a boy, to be a boy In the dirty south Easter Island Those were shards of glass that cut your foot From the dishes you smashed, I knew you would Standing there helpless, like a child The fight's over and, you won But against who There's no one there now But me and you I put you to bed And close the door, but there's still war Ooh, on Easter Island. The demons they hover, your father, mother The things they did to you, like no other Over the years have been forgotten. But not in your heart and it's still fighting. Ooh, on Easter Island. High and low, high and low I'll search that stretch Come back home Come back home Come back home On Easter Island Come back home On Easter Island Animal Where are the ones who lived before They are the cold winds in the north Where are the ones who teach us how In sweet magnolias in the south How do you hear the elders speak In the rains across the east And what about the spirits’ breath Their sigh, a dust storm in the west Who are you I am an animal Where are the ones who lived before They are the cold winds in the north Where are the ones who teach us how In sweet magnolias in the south How do you hear the elders speak In the rains across the east And what about the spirits’ breath Their sigh, a dust storm in the west Who are you I am a man with will Where are you I came from the hill Where are the ones who lived before They are the cold winds in the north Where are the ones who teach us how In sweet magnolias in the south How do you hear the elders speak In the rains across the east And what about the spirits’ breath Their sigh, a dust storm in the west Who are you I am the invisible
Ask the Night
*** Thanx a lot to Jessica for these lyrics ***
Why Is the Night Sad Why is the night sad Why is the night so sad You can blame it on what's in your glass But I know it's the night that makes you sad This house can't stand the storm And you know you're not safe here Through any crack in the floor The water pours Why is the night cold It grabs your heart and won’t let go You can blame it on the fresh laid snow But I know it's the night that makes us cold It's in the night that you feel all alone And the past begins to reclaim you What you've lost makes itself known Yes I know... Why is the night sad Why is the night so sad I know it doesn't help to ask But why is the night so sad
High ground Hey, big man, come down from there You know, with your hands, What you can do from there I know that you loved one long time ago And what happened to you then Made your heart turn to stone And there’s a rain coming down To the valley below And I know just how they feel Cause when the water rises They start to look for high ground Just like me when you come around Hey, big man, big wind, don’t blow Don’t come search for me I beg of you both 'Cause there’s a rain coming down To the valley below And I know just how they feel Cause when the water rises They start to look for high ground Just like me when you come around All you have to do Is think of me and you And all these things Enter my dreams And warn, yes they warn me That there’s a rain coming down To the valley below And I know just how they feel Cause when the water rises They start to look for high ground Just like me when you come around
Sister Sister, oh sister I remember when you were mine We walked through the fields Took pictures in heels But those were some simpler times But then a love came along The love of a man that didn’t belong Sister, oh sister He tried to tear us apart Cause together we’re strong But alone we are weak And that's how he likes his hearts But now that he is gone We're back to laughing all night long All night long Sister, oh sister I remember when we would shine We're no longer two against the world But at least we are on the same side
That certain-something spring The old dog sleeps and sleeps these days And we recall he used to play and play Here we are, left alone again In rooms of silence, we just join in We join in If you could return to that certain-something spring What decision would you amend them Could you dream of then Stop and ask the night What it stole from you Ask the night what it stole from you and Can it be returned Restless hearts, do they come with youth or age Now here we are, just trying to fill a page Just trying to fill a page Stop and ask the night What it stole from you Ask the night what it stole from you and Can it be returned Since you left, the seasons come and go Now pain is the only word I need to know It’s the only word
The Garden
What you sow in your garden Keeps growing on earth and in heaven For eternity Love and peace will fill your heart Fall from branches that you planted yourself So if you lose your home And you lose all you've worked for If you lose it all It's alright What you sow in your garden Keeps growing on earth and in heaven For eternity What they take from you today Grows inside you anyway You know But if you lose your home And you lose all you've worked for If you lose it all It's alright If you lose your home And you lose all you've got to give If you lose it all It's alright It's alright It's alright It's alright
*** Thanx a lot to Rebecca for this one ***
Wind You should know by now All there is to know About how this is going to go When the whiskey drops Down my burning throat The words come out Let’s go And so we will Hold our thumbs Up to the wind And see which way she blows Off we go I thought I was my own My mother, bless her soul Her gypsy blood takes hold And everything is grey Until I’m out again And nothing is certain And so we will Hold our thumbs Up to the wind And see which way she blows Here we go And if the wind blows west We’ll go west And if the wind blows south We’ll go south One thing you should know Is that I’d stay for you If you asked me to But you have gypsy blood Running through you too Or at least you’re glad I do And so we will Hold our thumbs Up to the wind And see which way she blows Oh love
Alabama Oh, it’s not too late Follow the sound That is the way Back to your home Hear the sound Right, round Pack your bags on the Greyhound And ride It’s not too late To go back to your home The lord, he hears you The lord, he’ll take care of you So, hear the sound Right, round Pack your bags on the Greyhound And ride It’s not too late To go back to your home Sweet Alabama, my home
The mural The mural on my ceiling Is soft and sweet Lying here, it gives me comfort One night, as I plan I will rise up there And, as I plan I will not come down I will not come down
Half-Light O Lord of the lost Lead to the swamp In half-light Where your shadows move Black water pools And Spanish moss This is when you feel us most When the light slips away And the old songs carry in the wind Bound by the great oak Remains of home We are long-gone Oh whispering ghosts Days long-ago And silver-grey air This is when you feel us most When the light slips away And cicadas begin to sing You feel the eyes The watching eyes Our shape takes root in half-light You feel the eyes The waiting eyes Blinking along the edge of darkness This is when you feel us most When the light slips away And the old songs carry in the wind The moon knows It’s so sad So sad To watch the world go bad The moon says as the sun sets And you know it and I know it And the moon knows it too
Blue Dream Ace of Cups Desire is an open hand Like salt in a mad wind And the sea with no mercy Takes all Love is a hurricane In the eye, you’re a different man But the calm is the heaven That will fall The sea is a kingdom And you are a queen I stand on the dry land And call If you are happy, you are loved You can fill up my cup I’ll take it cool, I’ll take it rough You can fill up my cup Copy paste again, aotr forever When hope is a bitter hand At the bottom of the ocean And salvation is like speaking To a wall The sea is a kingdom And you are its queen I stand on the dry land And call When you are happy, you are loved You can fill up my cup I’ll take it cool, I’ll take it rough You can fill up my cup If you are happy, you are loved You can fill up my cup I’ll take it cool, I’ll take it rough You can fill up my cup You Can Be Loved Champagne hair in the afternoon Now you speak with your eyes No fun or fair that he’s chosen youth But out of ash you will rise 'Cause you can be loved You can be loved You It’s what you take 'Cause nothing ever goes How you want in life Copy paste again, aotr forever When beauty fades She’ll be his ghost So put your arms into mine And you can be loved You can be loved You Words decay So I wanted to show you Our broken mouths will fail us When we try to say You can be loved You can be loved You You can be loved You can be loved You This Is a Part of Something Greater This is a part of something greater A star will start on the inside I held my hand out and you took it All of your fear alive Copy paste again, aotr forever Something inside is holding me At night we lie in our living room bed But your broken Jesus is in pieces While I lick the flames of the fire, yeah You know that my love will never die You know that my love will never die I couldn’t guess that time And uncertain death are the teachers But you held your hand out and I took it While you licked the flames of the fire, yeah 'Cause you know that my love will never die You know that my love will never die There’s something inside that’s sacred An open break in space and time I held my hand out and you took it I held my hand to fire 'Cause you know that my love will never die You know that my love will never die You know, you know that my love will never die You know that my love will never die You Are a Mystery You are a mystery to me You are the sun and the moon and the rain And the wind and the change That our eyes can no longer see You are a star in the sky You are my angel in heaven divine And the gold in the mines Can’t outshine you, baby You are a dream I hold close to me and Now I sing songs of make-believe Copy paste again, aotr forever You are a mystery to me You are the sun and the moon and the rain And the wind and the change That our eyes can no longer see Holy Holy I gave it all I gave it all to you And you took it when you left here We come into this world all alone And we leave with not much more The city lies under frozen ground And your heartbeat’s in the clouds now I’ve heard them cry, babies, all my life But now I hear them saying much more Holy, holy Holy, holy Holy, holy, my love I lay in bed Collect all my dreams Then I pay someone to read them to me The simple ones are just as they seem But open your eyes And they say so much more Copy paste again, aotr forever Holy, holy Holy, holy Holy, holy, my love I gave it all I gave it all to you And you took it when you left here We come into this world With our mother’s love And we leave with not much more Holy, holy Holy, holy Holy, holy, my love Blue Dream Blue sea Blue sky Blue rain In my eyes Blue house Blue stars Blue tears In my eyes Copy paste again, aotr forever Blue night Blue dream Blue light In my eyes Blue sea Blue sky Blue rain All the time Blue dream... Sweet Disorder I love that you live inside And never lightly You’re something that can’t be caught Crazy sweet disorder love I believed in nothing And in the end that’s what I got Let’s go to sleep, nothing more A pile of clothes that I once wore Whisper words I want to hear I’ll let myself out when the light is near Sweet disorder Sweet disorder Copy paste again, aotr forever Comes when you live inside And hold it tightly That something that can’t be caught Crazy sweet disorder love They don’t know I’m happy with what I got On my way, I couldn’t pass I helped a woman who had fallen bad I whispered words she wanted to hear And walked away when the ambulance neared Sweet disorder Sweet disorder Sweet disorder Sweet disorder I wash my hands and try to smile Sweet disorder, you’re a fickle child Whisper words you want to hear If I could just stay for another year in Sweet disorder Sweet disorder Sweet disorder Sweet disorder Poor Little Bear Oh my little bear You can’t be lost It isn’t fair So I search for a sign of your return Deep inside my heart I know that we will be apart Even still my wounded will tells me lies I love you, I love you, I love you I love you, I love you, I love you Copy paste again, aotr forever In the moonlight In the daytime In the heat of the night And the winter’s cold breath That beats on my chest Oh my little bear You’ve disappeared into the air So I breathe a little deeper Are you there I love you, I love you, I love you I love you, I love you, I love you In the moonlight In the daytime I think of your name My poor little bear Darkling Unearth us where we lay We fell and we’re fading Unearth us You know we tried Our heartbreak is a breakthrough You miss me and I miss you Our heartbreak became the light Copy paste again, aotr forever You always knew I would love you in the darkness You always knew With a hand up to the sunset My eyes burn and they get wet My eyes burn but they are wide My love is like water It flows in no order I’m drowning And then I’m dry You always knew I would love you in the darkness You always knew You always knew I would find you Here regardless You always knew You always knew You always knew I would love you in the darkness You always knew You always knew I would find you Here regardless You always knew All Hearts Will Beat Again Light in the day It’s just a way to stay awake I see your face And I know the loser’s grace It’s a sign in the eyes Something in your smile It’s a nod and a wave from the darkness But our hearts will beat again And the love we gave will come back I don’t know where or when Copy paste again, aotr forever Every new day Brings its own set of heartbreak If we could get away But these chains keep us in place A new moon, a new tide In our dreams they’re alive And the sun Well it’s just something that we fell for But their hearts will beat again And the love they gave will come back I don’t know where or when All hearts will beat again All hearts will beat again All hearts will beat again
Non Albums Tracks
Do You Realize (Flaming Lips cover on the Bloodline EP) Do you realize that you have the most beautiful face Do you realize we're floating in space Do you realize that happiness makes you cry Do you realize that everyone you know someday will die And instead of saying all of your goodbyes Let them know you realize that life goes fast It's hard to make the good things last You realize the sun don't go down It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round Do you realize Do you realize that everyone you know someday will die And instead of saying all of your goodbyes Let them know you realize that life goes fast It's hard to make the good things last You realize the sun don't go down It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round Do you realize that you have the most beautiful face Do you realize
Strange
(Galaxie 500 cover from 2005 tour) Why's everybody acting funny? Why's everybody look so strange? Why's everybody look so nasty? What do I want with all these things? I went alone down to the drugstore I went in back and took a Coke I stood in line and ate my Twinkies I stood in line, I had to wait Why's everybody acting funny? Why's everybody look so strange? Why's everybody look so pretty? What do I want with all these things? I went alone down to the drugstore I went in back and took a Coke I stood in line and ate my Twinkies I stood in line, I had to wait