I. David Wilcox i… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least two artists named David Wilcox.
I. David Wilcox is a Canadian rock and blues musician.
II. David Wilcox is an American folk musician and singer-songwriter guitarist.
I. More than three decades into his career, singer/songwriter David Wilcox continues to push himself, just as he always has. Wilcox, by so many measures, is a quintessential folk singer, telling stories full of heart, humor, and hope, substance, searching, and style. His innate sense of adventure and authenticity is why critics and colleagues, alike, have always praised not just his artistry, but his humanity, as well.
That's not by accident; it's very much by design. It's the result of a man giving himself over in gratitude and service to something bigger than himself. “I'm grateful to music,” he says. “I have a life that feels deeply good, but when I started playing music, nothing in my life felt that good. I started to write songs because I wanted to find a way to make my life feel as good as I felt when I heard a great song. I don't think I'd be alive now if it had not been for music.”
An early '80s move to Warren Wilson College in North Carolina set his wheels in motion, as he started playing guitar and writing songs, processing his own inner workings and accessing his own inner wisdom. In 1987, within a couple of years of graduating, Wilcox had released his first independent album, The Nightshift Watchman. A year later, he won the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Award and, in 1989, he signed with A&M Records, selling more than 100,000 copies of his A&M debut, How Did You Find Me Here.
In the 30 years and more than 20 records since — whether with a major label, an indie company, or his own imprint — Wilcox has continued to hone his craft, pairing thoughtful insights with his warm baritone, open tunings, and deft technique. He's also kept up a brisk and thorough tour itinerary, performing 80 to 100 shows a year throughout the U.S., and regularly deploying his talents by improvising a “Musical Medicine” song for an audience member in need. In recent years he’s taken that process a step further, carefully writing and recording dozens of his “Custom Songs” for long-time fans who seek his help in commemorating and explaining the key milestones in their lives.
Lest anyone think that he's lost his touch, Wilcox pulled no punches on his most recent release, 2018's The View From the Edge. Not only does the song cycle find him delving into mental health, family legacies, spiritual contemplations, and topical concerns, the song “We Make the Way By Walking" also won him the Grand Prize in the 2018 USA Songwriting Contest.
"I think the coolest thing about this kind of music is that, if you listen to a night's worth of music, you should know that person,” he explains. “If you're hearing a performer sing all these songs, you should know not only where he gets his joy and what he loves, but you should know what pisses him off and what frightens him and what runs him off the rails, what takes him apart and what puts him back together.”
To attain that level of revelatory honesty, Wilcox follows a song to its deepest truth, even when it haunts him, a practice which demands the strength of vulnerability that he has sought since his teen years. That honesty is why Rolling Stone has written that his “ongoing musical journey is compelling and richly deserving of a listen.” It's also why Blue Ridge Public Radio has noted that, “The connection people feel with David’s music is also the connection they feel with each other.”
But Wilcox's unique brand of storytelling doesn't come easily. And it doesn't come quickly. “I could always think of a lot of possible ways the song could go, but the trick was recognizing truth amidst all the cleverness,” he confesses. “The more time I took, the more my deep heart could speak to me through the process of songwriting. I could gradually craft a song that felt like it was coming from the place I was going. If you decide to trust heart over cleverness, you not only get a song that moves you, you get a song that moves you toward being who you want to be. The time you spend immersed in the emotion of a song changes you. The song shows you the world through a particular point of view. Once you have seen the world that way, you can't un-see it.”
Website: David Wilcox
II. The American David Wilcox was born in Cleveland, Ohio. His work features lyrical insight, asmooth baritone voice, virtuosic guitar chops, and creative open tunings. He released an independent album in 1987, won the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk award in 1988, and by 1989 he had signed with A&M Records. His first release on the label, ‘How Did You Find Me Here’, sold over 100,000 copies its first year. 17 albums later his songs have been covered by artists such as k.d. lang and many others.
City Of Dreams
David Wilcox Lyrics
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You could see past the narrows
Past our lady of the harbor
To the broad, open sea
See the curve of the earth
On the vast, blue horizon
From the world's greatest city
In the land of the free
All the brave men and women
That you never would notice
From the precincts and fire halls
The first on the scene
Storming into the buildings
On the side of the angels
They were gone in an instant
In the belly of the beast
[Chorus:]
We are children of slavery
Children of immigrants
Remnants of tribes and their tired refugees
As the walls tumble down
We are stronger together
Stronger than we ever knew we could be
As strong as that statue that stands for the promise
Of liberty here in this city of dreams
Liberty here in this city of dreams
All the flags on front porches
And banners of unity
Spanning the bridges
From the top of the fence
As we heal up the wounds
And take care of each other
There's more love in this nation
Than hate and revenge
[Chorus:]
The lyrics of David Wilcox's "City of Dreams" express a sense of pride in the city of New York and its people. The opening lines describe the view from the city's towering buildings, including the Statue of Liberty and the harbor, with a sense of awe and appreciation for the vastness of the world beyond. Wilcox then moves to the subject of the 9/11 attacks in which many lost their lives, including first responders who bravely stormed into the buildings to help people. Wilcox portrays these men and women as heroes on the side of the angels, whose sacrifice reminded us of the strength and resilience of the human spirit.
The chorus of the song speaks to the collective identity of Americans, born out of the struggles of slavery, immigration, and the dislocation of indigenous tribes. Despite these difficult histories, there is a sense of unity and strength in the face of adversity, embodied by the Statue of Liberty. The final verse speaks to the healing process that followed the 9/11 attacks, with people coming together to support one another and demonstrate that love is more powerful than hate.
Overall, "City of Dreams" offers a powerful tribute to New Yorkers and the nation as a whole, reminding us of the strength and resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
From the top of the towers
From the high peaks of the skyscrapers
You could see past the narrows
You could glimpse beyond the narrow channels
Past our lady of the harbor
Beyond the statue of Lady Liberty at the harbor
To the broad, open sea
To the vast, open ocean
See the curve of the earth
Observe the roundness of the planet
On the vast, blue horizon
At the limitless, blue horizon
From the world's greatest city
From the greatest city in the world
In the land of the free
In the country of freedom
All the brave men and women
All the courageous men and women
That you never would notice
Whom you might have never noticed
From the precincts and fire halls
From the police precincts and fire stations
The first on the scene
The initial responders
Storming into the buildings
Entering the edifices boldly
On the side of the angels
On the side of the divine forces
They were gone in an instant
They vanished quickly
In the belly of the beast
Amidst the danger and chaos of the situation
We are children of slavery
We are descendants of the slaves
Children of immigrants
Offspring of the immigrants
Remnants of tribes and their tired refugees
The remnants of the tribes and their exhausted refugees
As the walls tumble down
As the walls of division and hatred crumble
We are stronger together
We are more robust when we stick together
Stronger than we ever knew we could be
More robust than we ever thought possible
As strong as that statue that stands for the promise
As sturdy as that statue that symbolizes the pledge
Of liberty here in this city of dreams
Of freedom here in this dream city
All the flags on front porches
All the flags on the front of the houses
And banners of unity
And banners of harmony
Spanning the bridges
Spanning the bridges physically and metaphorically
From the top of the fence
From the highest point of the barrier
As we heal up the wounds
As we recover from the injuries
And take care of each other
And take care of one another
There's more love in this nation
There is more love in this country
Than hate and revenge
Than hatred and retaliation
Liberty here in this city of dreams
Freedom here in this dream city
Lyrics © SOROKA MUSIC LTD., BMG Rights Management
Written by: DAVID WILCOX, PIERCE PETTIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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No words then, none now. Beyond beautiful.