You, With the Sullen Eyes

I feel like the ghosts from the Kootenai Lodge near Big Fork, Montana, should be writing this explanation, but I’ll do my best. My parents have a house near there and I love to go into the old lodge and play the piano. The piano is from the late 1800s if I remember correctly, and it has beautiful designs carved into it. That is where the line “carved of cherry lacquered oak” comes from. One afternoon, feeling particularly surrounded by spirits, I felt compelled to ask what story they wanted me to tell. This was one of the quickest songs I’ve ever written. It took less than 20 minutes to write the whole thing. The poetry, I felt, was so beautiful. I hope that doesn’t come across as immodest, I truly feel that it came from outside of me. The haunting, melodic vocal melody that you hear before and after the chorus came first. In the studio, I sang that line into the body of a grand piano while Paul held down the sustain pedal. That was Paul’s idea, he is always coming up with ways to play with sound. This is why I call him a “sound chef.”

I saw the characters in the duet clearly. John Hawkes did a fantastic job of portraying the man. He is a grounded performer and took the time to work on the lyrics like a script. He asked questions about the words and gave a ton of respect to what I wrote. It was a glimpse into how he prepares for his roles in TV and film. That was a real treat, and eye opening. I’ll never forget it. His professionalism set a bar for me. Anytime I’m asked to work on someone else’s project, I try to bring that same level of focus and respect. The words “broken soles and tailored seams” are supposed to have a double meaning. It could be heard as “broken souls.” The male character is telling us about a strong, nurturing woman who takes care of things and people. “Her teeth of white, where it drips, my heart” means that he is at her benevolent mercy. I love these characters. They’re timeless. They really lean into one another.