Fifty-five years ago, Marilyn Bell took a plunge and traversed Lake Ontario. Back then, being a Great Lake swimmer was a big deal; now, it's an astonishing physical feat taken for granted. It's a rapidly forgotten part of history, like a faded map or a tattered photograph. Or a lost channel.
Tony Dekker's Great Lake Swimmers have spent the past seven years performing on stages around the world - though, like Bell, they should never be taken for granted. LOST CHANNELS, their fourth album set for release on March 31st, finds them once again recording at historic locations. This time in the Thousand Islands region of Ontario and New York state, telling tales of hidden histories, still "mining for light in the dark wells," still "tuned to an instrument of greater and unknown design."
The instrument in question is the singular voice of Tony Dekker, a voice that summons ghosts from times past. It’s a voice that is capable of conveying heartache and comfort all in the space of a single phrase. Though his supporting cast has changed over the years—with the exception of longtime right-hand man Erik Arnesen — Dekker has always encircled him self with sympathetic players who value spacious arrangements that frame his vocals. Over time, the band has evolved from a sparse, delicate and hushed unit into a well-rounded folk rock band, sacrificing none of their original intimacy while upping both the volume and tempos when necessary.
Dekker chooses to record in old churches, community halls, abandoned grain silos and rural locations. It's easy to hear why. His voice doesn't need any studio embellishment, standing at its strongest when bathed in natural reverb and enriched by the historical context surrounding it.
To record LOST CHANNELS, Dekker and company went upstream on the St. Lawrence River to the Thousand Islands, halfway between Toronto and Montreal, a historic and picturesque area that straddles the Canadian/American border, and has been designated a World Biosphere Region. Great Lake Swimmers arrived at the invitation of fan and Thousand Islands photographer/regional historian Ian Coristine (www.1000islandsphotoart.com).
Coristine was able to arrange for the band to record in a number of acoustically unique spaces within the region, including one of the area's most storied landmarks, Singer Castle on Dark Island, near Hammond, NY (www.singercastle.com); as well as the historical Brockville Arts Centre (www.brockvilleartscentre.com); and at St. Brendan’s Church in Rockport, ON.
Additional recording took place at Halla and the Lincoln County Social Club in Toronto and the album was woven into a cohesive whole at the House Of Miracles, in London, ON, with long-time Great Lake Swimmers collaborator, Andy Magoffin.
That the album was created in both rural splendour and urban Ontario makes perfect sense for a band that has always navigated the parallels between natural and urban rhythms. River imagery recurs throughout LOST CHANNELS; the title of the album is a reference to a certain passage of the St. Lawrence, close to the recording locale, where a reconnaissance boat from a British warship went mysteriously missing in 1760. There’s no specific reference to the incident in the lyrics, though there are plenty of night skies, howling winds and raging rivers in almost every song which captures an elusive sense of mystery. As the album closes, Dekker sings the final lyrics—“Like the unstoppable river… Your beauty is gentle/ but forceful, and fast”—before the band ends on a suspended note. There is no resolution there, only eternity, a continuum, an endless river.
LOST CHANNELS also features the talents of Julie Fader (flute/backing vocals), Greg Millson (drums), Darcy Yates (bass), with appearances by Erin Aurich on violin; Mike Olsen on cello; and Paul Aucoin on vibraphone; along with special guests / Swimmers collaborators Serena Ryder with vocals on “Everything Is Moving So Fast” and Bob Egan on pedal steel.
Four albums into an already-rich and storied career, Great Lake Swimmers’ live show has won them ever-expanding audiences in the United States and Europe, and of course their native Canada. In 2008 Great Lake Swimmers shared the stage with an impressive list of artists, including Feist, Bela Fleck & The Sparrow Quartet, Hayden, Goldfrapp, Bill Callahan of Smog, and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss.
Various Stages
Great Lake Swimmers Lyrics
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I have seen you through various states of madness.
I have seen your refractions and I did not recognize you.
I have seen you in various states of madness.
How high your highest of heights? How low are your lows?
How high your highest of heights? How low are your lows?
My mind was willing and my spirit was strong.
My lips were tired and tightened from singing along.
My eyelids are heavy as anchors thrown over.
How high your highest of heights? How low are your lows?
How high your highest of heights? How low are your lows?
I have seen you in the eyes of a hundred thousand other stranger faces.
I have seen you in unlikely and unfamiliar places.
I have seen you be reckless in matters of love.
I have seen by degrees the boiling point come and go.
How high your highest of heights? How low are your lows?
How high your highest of heights? How low are your lows?
What lies at the end of this long and dark and twisted road?
How high your highest of heights? How low are your lows?
I have seen you in various stages of undress.
I have seen you through various states of madness.
The song "Various Stages" by Great Lake Swimmers is a melancholic reflection on a past relationship and the different stages of events and emotions that characterized it. The lyrics address the singer's observations and experiences of the other person, expressed through the metaphor of uncovering layers, both physical and psychological. The first verse reveals that the singer has seen the other person in various stages of undress and madness, implying a familiarity with their most vulnerable and erratic states. However, the second verse indicates a distance and disconnection, with the singer acknowledging that they did not recognize the other person's refractions, which suggests a fragmentation or distortion of their identity. This theme of separation is further developed in the third verse, where the singer apologizes for not being able to give more of themselves to the other person, describing their exhaustion and weariness. The final verse returns to the idea of different stages, with the singer alluding to encounters with many other strangers as well as the other person's reckless behavior in love, culminating in the question of what lies at the end of the dark and twisted road they have traveled.
Overall, the song conveys a sense of introspection and contemplation, with the singer examining their own limitations and regrets as well as the complexities and mysteries of the other person. The use of repetition in the chorus emphasizes the duality of highs and lows, suggesting a fluctuation and unpredictability in emotions and experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
I have seen you in various stages of undress.
I have witnessed you vulnerable and exposed in many different ways.
I have seen you through various states of madness.
I have observed you in different levels of insanity and distress.
I have seen your refractions and I did not recognize you.
I have witnessed you from different angles and could not identify you.
How high your highest of heights? How low are your lows?
What are the extremes of your emotions and experiences?
I am sorry I had nothing left for you.
I regret that I could not give you what you needed.
My mind was willing and my spirit was strong.
I had the motivation and strength, but not the energy.
My lips were tired and tightened from singing along.
I was fatigued from participating and expressing myself.
My eyelids are heavy as anchors thrown over.
I am exhausted and cannot keep them open.
I have seen you in the eyes of a hundred thousand other stranger faces.
I have recognized parts of you in unfamiliar people.
I have seen you in unlikely and unfamiliar places.
I have witnessed you in unexpected and unknown environments.
I have seen you be reckless in matters of love.
I have noticed you act thoughtlessly when it comes to relationships.
I have seen by degrees the boiling point come and go.
I have observed the gradual increase in tension leading to a climax.
What lies at the end of this long and dark and twisted road?
What awaits us at the conclusion of this difficult and complicated journey?
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: ANTHONY DEKKER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind