Crossing state lines with guitars, looping pedals, and all manner of percus… Read Full Bio ↴Crossing state lines with guitars, looping pedals, and all manner of percussive instrument in tow, Lucas Carpenter is a modern pop troubadour. With a beat heavy and melody rich sound that borrows from his love of folk songcraft, the colorfulness of pop, Nashville storytelling, and hip electronic production values, LC is remixing what it means to be a singer-songwriter.

Born into a tightly knit, small town community in Pennsylvania, he is the son of a funeral director and the much loved black sheep of a large family. A self-proclaimed "Art Kid From the Country", Lucas began his creative journey in musical theater productions, choirs, and garage bands before moving first to Pittsburgh, then to Boston to attend the Berklee College of Music (’06 Songwriting graduate), to Philadelphia for 3 years, then to New York City. Eventually "Music City" beckoned, landing him in Nashville, TN, where he currently resides when not on the road. His songs are colorful sonic tapestries, contrasting the mundane and often comic reality of life in rural America against the cultural diversity and fast pace of the cities he's called home.

Since releasing the “Art Kids From the Country” EP 6 years ago, Lucas has played over 500 shows, sold over 5,000 albums and digital downloads completely independently, plus created “The Pixelated Path” (2008) and "Evolution/Mystery" (2010), his most ambitious work to date. Both EP's, produced with Los Angeles based friend and producer David Bowick, venture into new sonic territory, combining beats generated from samples of office equipment, classic synthesizer sounds, beatboxing, and even a desk chair rolling across the floor, with organic instrumentation that included fretless guitar, Irish tin whistles, nyckelharpa (Swedish keyed fiddle), and toy pianos.

Currently, Lucas is on the road, sharing his high octane, electro-acoustic show with fans across the country. As a songwriter, a storyteller, a producer, and a performer Lucas Carpenter offers a new vision for the modern pop artist.

Tumbleweed
Lucas Carpenter Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Dear God,
I saw you in a tumbleweed just the other day
But not in the kind of way
Like people see Jesus burnt onto a piece of toast and scream
It was more of a subtlety you see
Cause the tumbleweed knows to grow itself into a ball
Die, dry up, snap off, and roll across the ground
All to spread it's seed

What a smart little tumbleweed
That's one smart little tumbleweed
A little bit of evolution, a little bit of mystery
Cause how does it know what to do?

I think it's you
I think it's you
I think it's you

Dear God,
Well who would've thought that driving across the Lone Star State
Would start to give me faith
In things that I never found sitting around bitching 'bout
The 10 things you hate about us
'Cause somewhere your message got lost
In pocketbooks and political views
If I'm pro-this, then I'm anti-you
Well I found what I believe
I believe in that tumbleweed
That smart little tumbleweed
A little bit of evolution, a little bit of mystery
Cause something's missing from the church pews

I think it's you
I think it's you
I think it's you

So many miracles are hard to explain, we can't explain
Like fingerprints and Love
Stevie Wonder and lightening bugs
Fingerprints and Love
Stevie Wonder and lightening bugs
Where did they come from?

I think it's you

I think it's you
I think it's you

Overall Meaning

In Lucas Carpenter's song Tumbleweed, the lyrics describe the singer's encounter with the divine in a tumbleweed. The song is a reminiscence of a road trip across Texas where the singer sees God in the subtle way that a tumbleweed grows into a ball to spread its seeds. It is not a grand, miraculous encounter, like seeing "Jesus burnt onto a piece of toast" but a quiet, unassuming one that inspires the singer's faith. The tumbleweed's evolution and mystery are compared to the church's missing message, and the singer finds his belief in the smart little tumbleweed instead.

The song questions the relevance of religion in modern times, where it seems to have lost its message amidst pocketbooks and political views. It contrasts the ten things people hate about us with the little things that inspire faith, like a tumbleweed or Stevie Wonder and lightning bugs. The song invokes the mystery of creation and the divine amidst the hard-to-explain miracles like fingerprints and love.

In summary, Carpenter's Tumbleweed is a beautiful, introspective song that challenges our assumptions about religion and the divine. It suggests that inspiration can be found in the subtle and unassuming things around us that we may have overlooked in our search for grandeur and miracles.

Line by Line Meaning

Dear God, I saw you in a tumbleweed just the other day
The singer felt the presence of God in the subtle growth and movement of a tumbleweed.

But not in the kind of way Like people see Jesus burnt onto a piece of toast and scream It was more of a subtlety you see
The singer did not experience a dramatic or miraculous encounter with God like some people claim with sighting of Jesus, but rather the experience was subtle.

Cause the tumbleweed knows to grow itself into a ball Die, dry up, snap off, and roll across the ground All to spread it's seed What a smart little tumbleweed That's one smart little tumbleweed A little bit of evolution, a little bit of mystery Cause how does it know what to do?
The singer admires the intelligence and mysterious ability of the tumbleweed plant to self-dry, self-snap, and spread seed across the land. He marvels at the plant's self-awareness and acknowledges the evolutionary wisdom that drives its growth.

I think it's you I think it's you I think it's you
The artist believes that the divine power of God is expressed in the natural world through the intelligent design and growth of the tumbleweed, which he believes is a self-sufficient miracle of nature.

Dear God, Well who would've thought that driving across the Lone Star State Would start to give me faith In things that I never found sitting around bitching 'bout The 10 things you hate about us 'Cause somewhere your message got lost In pocketbooks and political views
The artist credits his spiritual awakening to his drive through the Lone Star State, where he was able to escape the cynical and petty world of modern urban life and find a new appreciation for God's divine message that had been lost amid the materialistic and political agendas of organized religion.

If I'm pro-this, then I'm anti-you Well I found what I believe I believe in that tumbleweed That smart little tumbleweed A little bit of evolution, a little bit of mystery Cause something's missing from the church pews
The singer realized the limitations of political and religious dogma in his spiritual journey and found belief and solace in the organic wisdom and mystery of the tumbleweed, which he sees as a symbol of divine purpose and intelligent design that is absent from the traditional dogma and ritual of organized religion.

So many miracles are hard to explain, we can't explain Like fingerprints and Love Stevie Wonder and lightening bugs Fingerprints and Love Stevie Wonder and lightening bugs Where did they come from?
The singer ponders the mystery and grace of everyday miracles that defy rational explanation, such as love, fingerprints, lightning bugs, and the genius of Stevie Wonder's music. He sees these as evidence of the divine's presence in the world.

I think it's you I think it's you I think it's you
The artist concludes his song by reaffirming his belief that God is the source of all things good, true, and mysterious in the world, and that the divine presence can be felt and experienced in the most unexpected and humble circumstances, such as a tumbleweed rolling across a dry plain.

Contributed by Callie G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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