In 2009, on a road trip with a good friend, the line "we'll clap hands until the static shuffles in" crept into my mind, presumably as one radio station transitioned to another as we crossed the deserts of Arizona. I held to it closely. It re-emerged and resonated differently years later, when my two children were born and anxiety began preventing me from leaving their side for any friendly adventures. I missed my friends. I missed mis-calculating the distance as walkable from the El Rey theater to our friends' apartment at midnight after a Dr. Dog concert. I missed drinking tea, eating cake, and falling asleep to a movie with them; missed singing and dancing with them. I missed us leaving state lines on a whim, then returning home just as spontaneously to order Bulan Thai and watch Happy Go Lucky on the sticky leather couch in our living room. This song has hit differently during the pandemic, too: I've missed just about everyone. I want them to know. Maybe now they do.
lyrics
It’s been a moment
And then a month
And then too long
Since we last were together
Called each other
I wanna write all you good friends
A long, long letter
But then I
Cave to pressures
I’m captive
I’m gone
But someday our song will
Rise above the din
And we’ll clap hands
Until the static shuffles in
Until the static shuffles in
It’s been a bad day
Then a rough week
And then too long
Since I last had somebody
See and love me
I wanna show all you good friends
I’ve got my shit together
But then I
Wilt and wither
I’m crumpled
I’m done
But someday our song will
Rise above the din
And we’ll dance hard
Until the static shuffles in
Until the static shuffles in
When words escape me
Or they just throb in my brain
Will you bless me
And keep me
In yours?
But someday our song will
Rise above the din
And we’ll love big
Until the static shuffles in
Until the static shuffles in
credits
released July 22, 2021
Words, music, vocals & guitar: Meredith Hobbs Coons
Bass: Paul Dewitt Hobbs
Drums: Eric Slick
Mixed and mastered by Jam Phelps, Denk Studios
Album art: Jessica Kirkpatrick
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