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.
Rêverie
David Wilcox Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Taking me back
To the green in the leaves high over the reverie
Follow the stream
To the sound where the creek pours over the reverie
Follow me down
Here is where I want to be
Here is where I'm gonna be
When the fire from the war
Sends the smoke down over the reverie
I will abide
In the strength of the tall trees under the canopy
Wherever I am
I'll return to the deep peace here in my memory
All of our homes
That we built with our own hands, shatter so easily
All of the dreams
That we dared to dream, now they will never be
So I need to stand
With my back to the great grandfather red wood tree
I need to know
There's a seed that can grow into the mystery
Into the majesty, into the reverie, into the reverie
David Wilcox's song Reverie is a powerful ode to nature and the importance of finding peace and tranquility amidst the chaos of life. The lyrics begin with an invitation to the listener to walk towards a place where the road meets the reverie. The reverie represents a state of mind that is calm, serene and close to nature. The green leaves high over the reverie signify the beauty and abundance of the natural world. The stream that flows through it is a metaphor for the ebb and flow of life. The sound of the creek pouring over the reverie is a soothing and comforting sound that helps the listener find peace and solace.
The lyrics then take a melancholic turn when Wilcox sings about the fire from the war sending smoke over the reverie. Here, he is referring to the destruction that human actions cause in the natural world. In the face of this destruction, Wilcox finds hope and strength in the tall trees that stand under the canopy. He knows that wherever he goes, he can always return to the memory of this place and find peace. He then reflects on how easily our homes and dreams can be shattered, leading to a sense of loss and despair. But even amidst this loss, Wilcox finds solace in knowing that the great grandfather redwood tree holds the seed that can grow into the mystery and majesty of the reverie.
Line by Line Meaning
Walk to the place where the road runs into the reverie
Follow the road that leads you to a dream-like state of mind.
Taking me back
To the green in the leaves high over the reverie
Follow the stream
The scenery in the dream is lush greenery, and the path is by a stream.
To the sound where the creek pours over the reverie
Follow me down
The sound of the creek flows into the dream, and the singer is inviting the listener to follow.
I only wanna stay here
Here is where I want to be
Here is where I'm gonna be
The dream is a desirable place to be for the singer, and they want to remain there.
When the fire from the war
Sends the smoke down over the reverie
The dream is disturbed by impending war and its effects on the surrounding environment.
I will abide
In the strength of the tall trees under the canopy
Wherever I am
I'll return to the deep peace here in my memory
The singer finds solace in nature, particularly with tall trees under their shade, and wants to return to it whenever possible.
All of our homes
That we built with our own hands, shatter so easily
All of the dreams
That we dared to dream, now they will never be
Homes and dreams are easily destroyed, leaving a sense of loss and disappointment.
So I need to stand
With my back to the great grandfather red wood tree
I need to know
There's a seed that can grow into the mystery
Into the majesty, into the reverie, into the reverie
The singer feels the need to find a strong, foundational anchor, like the great redwood tree, and believes there is potential for growth and greatness in the dream world.
Contributed by Tyler K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.