The story of Love Will Find You, Findlay Brown's top-drawer US debut for Verve Forecast, begins with the 29-year-old Englishman finding himself on his sister's sofa after being struck by a cab, recuperating from a broken leg. For Brown, alone with a tune-challenged yet stubbornly magical heirloom guitar that had treated him well creatively in the past, this unlikely stretch of time occasioned research as pleasurable as it was enforced.
"I had none of my records with me," recalls the Yorkshire native, whose Separated by the Sea, his 2007 UK debut, met with highest praise from London critics. "I revisited and rediscovered do-wop, Elvis, Roy Orbison, as well as a lot of soul music like Motown and other '60s black music. I was really doing my homework. I would sit with that old guitar and my computer, downloading tracks off i-Tunes, whether it be vintage Phil Spector or whatever, literally studying the songs -- what the bass was doing, what the drums were doing. It was a good chance to be completely immersed, with no distractions, just laid on the sofa because of my broken leg. Pretty much nothing else to do."
Comprehensive research by a self-described "musical obsessive," however, formed only the starting point for Love Will Find You , which has emerged as the richest of current sonic experiences. A life-long fan of '60s rock and the Beatles ("They're always there…"), Brown has managed to fuse the driven and searching qualities of music by late-'60s west coast American avatars such as Jimi Hendrix , Spirit, and Captain Beefheart with ostensibly more conservative songwriting styles rooted in the more compositionally succinct ways from the immediate eras before psychedelicism.
"Over the past few years," Brown says, "I've been really interested in the Brill Building crowd, you know, the old-school songwriters. When I'm writing music, I want to write hits. With my references from the '60s, it's the '60s pop music I'm aspiring to, and the best songwriters are the Bacharachs and the Davids, the Neil Diamonds, the Carole Kings. That was their job. Part of the charm of those kinds of songs is that they sound so simple, so poppy, so instant. But it's only a seeming simplicity; they are challenging indeed to write."
Aided by producer Bernard Butler, the Suede guitarist who lately has worked with the vintage-minded English singer Duffy, Brown on Love Will Find You achieves transporting music presented as ten songs all of which long to be free-standing aural events. The stroke of the collection is that, from the freshly reimagined Spectoresque beat of the title song to the poised Righteous Brothers operaticism of "I Had a Dream," the component pieces succeed as such.
"I wanted to make something completely unashamed of where it was coming from," says Brown. The pop maximalism of Love Will Find You is, after all, more consistent with his pop tastes and dreams than was his comparatively stripped-down debut, where he scaled back to concentrate on repairing an ailing romantic relationship. As a UK teen, for instance, Brown was unsold on Britpop but nuts about Elvis. "On this album we wanted to go with whatever felt necessary, without trying to put any sort of indie slant on it, without trying to be cool. It was like, 'This is a pop record done in a classic way: If we want a string or horn section, let's go for it.' I'd been listening to big production stuff, whether it is Matt Monroe or Serge Gainsbourg or Morricone or West Side Story. I wanted to have an experience."
Brown owns a fluent, flexible pop tenor tending toward heaven but that retains an earthbound familiarity. Songs like "Nobody Cared" and "Everybody Needs Love" makes easeful use of the grammar of love triumphant and/or distressed yet the net emotional effect of Brown's careful, involved, yet unfussy performances on these thrillingly well-engineered tracks make the pieces dart off in myriad different directions sometimes unpredictable. "People ask me," Brown mentions, "''What's this song about?' My first response is that, well, it's what it's about, it's there in the words, that I wrote this song about this thing so I don’t have to talk about it."
With Love Will Find You Brown takes a step further. This is music where research and historical information and style -- and the critical but ultimately limited allures of formalism itself -- bleed into things far more momentous than any of those concerns, all working together to portray places where sung words turn into ecstatic, often difficult states quite beyond themselves.
"Here," Brown believes, "what the song is about is actually the music: It's about the performance, the sort of spiritual act of both doing and, I hope, hearing it. I rather hate to say this about any lyric I would write, but the lyric is almost insignificant to what is behind the lyric. It's the point of departure. It's the point where you cannot intellectually go on. It's where you transcend into the experience of listening. It's the end of explanation."
When the Lights Go Out
Findlay Brown Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Try to understand what's wrong
Find the way to make a change
In my mind we arrange
Where I can waste another day
And watch the moment fade away
When the lights go out to feed the dark
The dealer takes control
If I let him in we can both begin
To live a life that's whole
Drifting through the spears of summer grass
Gives me freedom from the past
See the diamonds in the sky
Weave the darkness of the night
Let the stillness in you
Hold the moment for within
When the lights go out I feed the town
The dealer takes control
If I let him in we can both begin
To live a life that's whole
Know that I want to live
Know that I want to give
Know that I want to know
Know that I want to show
When the lights go out to feed the dark
The dealer takes control
If I let him in we can both begin
To live a life that's whole
In "When the Lights Go Out," Findlay Brown contemplates the idea of writing yet another song in order to gain a deeper understanding of what is troubling him. The lyrics suggest that he is searching for a way to bring about positive change in his life. Through this songwriting process, he hopes to create a space in his mind where he can escape from reality and pass the time, although he acknowledges that such moments are fleeting and ultimately fade away.
The phrase "When the lights go out to feed the dark" metaphorically captures the idea that when one is in a vulnerable state or feeling lost, there is a temptation to succumb to destructive habits or negative influences represented by the "dealer." By allowing these influences to take hold, it is suggested that Brown and the dealer can embark on a journey towards a more fulfilling and complete life together. This can be interpreted as either a literal or figurative association with external substances or unhealthy coping mechanisms.
The mention of "drifting through the spears of summer grass" symbolizes a sense of liberation and release from the past. Brown finds solace in the beauty of nature, using it as a means to escape and disconnect from the burdens of his history. The imagery of "diamonds in the sky" further reinforces this idea, as it represents the limitless possibilities and potential that darkness can bring. By embracing the stillness within himself, he believes he can capture and hold onto these transformative moments.
In the final verse, Brown expresses a desire to live a fulfilling life, to share his experiences, and to be open to new possibilities. He acknowledges that he wants to truly live, give, understand, and show others his authentic self. This ties back to the idea of taking control of his own darkness and allowing himself to experience a life that is whole and meaningful. By resisting the negative influences represented by the "dealer," Brown hopes to embark on a path of self-discovery and positive change.
Line by Line Meaning
I think I'll write another song
I am contemplating the creation of a new musical composition
Try to understand what's wrong
I will make an effort to comprehend the existing issues
Find the way to make a change
Discovering a method to bring about a transformation
In my mind we arrange
Mentally organizing the possibilities
Where I can waste another day
In a place where I can spend time idly
And watch the moment fade away
Observing the passing of the present instant
When the lights go out to feed the dark
During the period of darkness, utilizing it to nourish the hidden aspects
The dealer takes control
The metaphorical dealer assumes authority
If I let him in we can both begin
If I allow the dealer entry, both of us can commence
To live a life that's whole
To experience an existence that is complete and fulfilled
Drifting through the spears of summer grass
Traversing aimlessly amidst the blades of summer grass
Gives me freedom from the past
It grants me liberation from the preceding experiences
See the diamonds in the sky
Perceiving the gleaming jewels within the celestial expanse
Weave the darkness of the night
Blending the obscurity of the nighttime together
Let the stillness in you
Allow the calmness within your being
Hold the moment for within
Embrace the present instance from within yourself
Know that I want to live
Acknowledge my desire to exist
Know that I want to give
Recognize my intention to provide
Know that I want to know
Understand that I have a craving for knowledge
Know that I want to show
Be aware that I aspire to demonstrate
When the lights go out to feed the dark
During the period of darkness, utilizing it to nourish the hidden aspects
The dealer takes control
The metaphorical dealer assumes authority
If I let him in we can both begin
If I allow the dealer entry, both of us can commence
To live a life that's whole
To experience an existence that is complete and fulfilled
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: DAVIDE ROSSI, FINDLAY RON BROWN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@torsuntsu
This kind of songs give a true meaning to moments of love!
@viviancarbajal2390
Wow I love it so much! 💗 Gives you a sense of tranquility 🌊🌫
@v203an
i like this so much!
@fredicardona1678
It's very good :^)
@planetinspiration
pure
@FireFuryPlay
Nice