Mandolin Orange’s music radiates a mysterious warmth —their songs feel like whispered secrets, one hand cupped to your ear. The North Carolina duo have built a steady and growing fanbase with this kind of intimacy, and on Tides of A Teardrop, due out February 1, it is more potent than ever. By all accounts, it is the duo’s fullest, richest, and most personal effort. You can hear the air between them—the taut space of shared understanding, as palpable as a magnetic field, that makes their music sound like two halves of an endlessly completing thought. Singer-songwriter Andrew Marlin and multi-instrumentalist Emily Frantz have honed this lamp glow intimacy for years.
In the last three years, the group has toured throughout the U.S and Europe, including appearances at Austin City Limits, South by Southwest, Edmonton Folk Music Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Newport Folk Festival, Pickathon, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Rooster Walk, and MerleFest and the Omagh Bluegrass Festival. Mandolin Orange was the featured artist on CBS This Morning's Saturday Morning Sessions on December 7, 2019.
They signed to Yep Roc Records in 2013 and have produced four albums under their umbrella, This Side Of Jordan, Such Jubilee, Blindfaller and Tides of a Teardrop.
Easy
Mandolin Orange Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As you make my dyin' bed.
I'll keep your memory with me
For as long as I rest.
As an old tree falls,
it's our loss.
They all fall.
Lay me down.
Lay me down easy,
deep in the clay.
As you touch another soul,
as you say what you'll say,
And defend then mine,
I've left my life.
Lay me down easy.
Lay me down easy.
As we meet at the gate,
with the Devil on my shoulder
and a poor man's fate.
Will I win my wings?
Will I sleep? sleep.
Lay me down...
The lyrics of Mandolin Orange's song Easy are quite poignant and emotive, dealing with the subject of death and memory. The song opens with the line "Lay me down easy, as you make my dyin' bed", which sets the tone for the rest of the song. The singer is asking someone to make their last moments on earth as comfortable as possible, knowing that their time is almost up.
The next lines, "I'll keep your memory with me, for as long as I rest", suggests that the singer wants to be remembered by the person they are speaking to. They want their memory to be cherished long after they are gone. The reference to an old tree falling implies that death is a natural part of life, something that we all have to face eventually.
In the second verse, the singer asks to be laid down "deep in the clay", referring to the earth they will be buried in. They want the person they are speaking to, most likely a loved one, to promise to defend their memory even when they are no longer there to defend themselves. It's a plea for a sense of reassurance that they will not be forgotten.
The final verse brings up the subject of the afterlife, with the singer wondering whether they will be rewarded with "wings" or be forced to "sleep" for eternity. The fact that they mention meeting "the Devil on my shoulder" suggests that they have led an imperfect life and are therefore concerned about their fate. Overall, the song deals with the very human need to be remembered after we die and to know that our loved ones will keep our memory alive.
Line by Line Meaning
Lay me down easy
Please put me to rest without causing any agitation or stress.
As you make my dyin' bed.
As I approach death, kindly provide me with comfort and support.
I'll keep your memory with me
For as long as I rest.
Even in death, I will always cherish and remember our moments together.
As an old tree falls,
it's our loss.
They all fall.
Like a tree falling and leaving a gap behind in nature, my death will leave a void behind amongst people who knew me.
Lay me down.
I'm ready to rest now, please let me go.
Lay me down easy,
deep in the clay.
I want to be buried without causing any harm to the environment or nature, let my resting place be peaceful.
As you touch another soul,
as you say what you'll say,
And defend then mine,
I've left my life.
As you go on with your life, create an impact in other people's lives, and defend my legacy or reputation since I've passed on.
Lay me down easy.
My last wish is for a peaceful resting place.
As we meet at the gate,
with the Devil on my shoulder
and a poor man's fate.
As I approach my final judgment, I hope my deeds in life can redeem me despite encountering temptations, and even without worldly possessions.
Will I win my wings?
Will I sleep? sleep.
I hope to move on from this life peacefully, without any regrets, and be free from the cycle of life and death.
Lay me down...
I'm ready to peacefully pass on.
Contributed by Colin F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.