His brand of genuine song writing coupled with his compelling live show, never fails to leave an impression on an audience. He surrounds himself on stage with an array of instrumentation, from loop machines, sequencers, effect pedals, and drums to the acoustic guitar that sits at the heart of his songs. His sound is compared by listeners to such artists as The Cure, Joseph Arthur, and The Honorary Title. His story telling and dead pan humor continue to endear him to audiences of all demographics.
Cary was born and raised in the town of Thousand Oaks, California, the once rural town just north of Los Angeles. He now lives in the mountains just north of Jackson Hole, Wyoming where he spends his time off the road wandering through the alpine forests, snowboarding, and communing with nature.
CJ HAS PERFORMED WITH THE FOLLOWING ARTISTS: Death Cab For Cutie, Bright Eyes, The Shins, Tristan Prettyman, Ari Hest, Pedro the Lion, Of Montreal, Citizen Cope, Matt Wertz, The Headlights, Life House, Rooney, David Ryan Harris, This Providence, Amber Pacific, Nerf Herder, The Redwest, Neve, David Wilcox, Maktub, Raining Jane, Stars Align, Joe Purdy, Love Story Hero, etc, etc....
Shame and Gold
Cary Judd Lyrics
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From a window that divided the cold from the warm insides where we hide from the secrets that we all hold like shame and gold, stories full of holes
Are we dying? Were we ever alive?
Are we lying? Is that how we survive?
Are we crying over nothing? It's all for nothing...
Or are we alive at the beginning of forever?
Sometimes nothings real but what you think, and in what you feel you'll find that nothing's fake. But if it's all so clear I'll disappear, floating, flying, never dying
Counting days, do they measure up to anything real?
The days unwind, you can only choose from what you find
I think we're alive at the beginning of forever
The lyrics of Cary Judd's song "Shame and Gold" are quite introspective, exhibiting an existentialist sentiment that is inextricably tied to themes of secrecy and inner turmoil. The imagery that the singer employs to describe the first verses of the song seems deeply metaphorical, almost like a description of a crack in one's soul. The glass breaking and the cold dividing itself from the warm insides is a powerful representation of the moments when a person feels like they're breaking apart, where the things that used to be able to hold them together seem to shatter in an instant. The singer describes themselves as caught in a still frame, which seems to suggest a sense of detachment, a feeling of being disconnected from their own pain.
The chorus of the song is where the real heart of the matter lies, as the singer asks if they are dying or if they were ever alive to begin with. The lyrics suggest that the singer is struggling to find meaning in their existence - they ask if they are lying just to survive, or if their mourning is an exercise in futility. The refrain "are we alive at the beginning of forever?" implies that the singer is searching for a sense of purpose beyond the immediacy of their own struggles. In this sense, the song seems to be about coming to terms with mortality, and trying to find meaning in life beyond the superficial.
Line by Line Meaning
I stand in the moment of the picture when the glass breaks and the first cracks form caught in a still frame of a strobe flash light on a thread of time and glass is flying
I am frozen in time as I witness an event unfold. The first cracks start appearing on the glass as it shatters. This moment seems to last forever, captured by the flash of a camera, like a thread through time, while broken shards fly around me.
From a window that divided the cold from the warm insides where we hide from the secrets that we all hold like shame and gold, stories full of holes
The window separates the inside and outside worlds, where secrets are kept hidden. We treasure our secrets like valuable possessions but they weigh us down with shame. Our stories are incomplete, full of gaps that we keep hidden.
Are we dying? Were we ever alive?
We question the very nature of our existence. Are we living or just waiting to die?
Are we lying? Is that how we survive?
We question if we are being truthful. Do we lie to ourselves and others to get through life?
Are we crying over nothing? It's all for nothing...
We question the validity of our emotions. Are we truly sad over nothing or is everything really meaningless?
Or are we alive at the beginning of forever?
We choose to believe that we are at the start of something infinite and meaningful.
I prayed so hard to just to believe it, I never see it, I never see you I always doubt, then bang it out, this drumming heart is where I started
I have faith but it is hard to hold onto. I can't see what I believe in but I doubt myself all the time. But my heart keeps beating with hope, that's where my journey began.
Sometimes nothings real but what you think, and in what you feel you'll find that nothing's fake.
Reality is subjective, it is based on what one thinks. But one's feelings can never be fake, they are the only true measure of your own existence.
But if it's all so clear I'll disappear, floating, flying, never dying
If everything falls into place, I will cease to exist in this reality - I'll leave this world and start a new journey that never ends.
Counting days, do they measure up to anything real?
We ponder if time can truly indicate the magnitude of our existence?
The days unwind, you can only choose from what you find
Time continues to move forward endlessly, but you can only control what you encounter during that time.
I think we're alive at the beginning of forever
We affirm our earlier belief that we are at the dawn of a never-ending cycle of life.
Contributed by Keira K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.