Orenda Fink (born September 18, 1975 in Birmingham, Alabama) is a musician,… Read Full Bio ↴Orenda Fink (born September 18, 1975 in Birmingham, Alabama) is a musician, composer and singer closely associated with the Saddle Creek label, and probably best known as half of Azure Ray with Maria Taylor. She is also a former member of Now It's Overhead.

She released her full first full-length solo album, Invisible Ones, on August 23rd, 2005. A rockier affair than the measured etheriality of Azure Ray, or Maria Taylor's first solo album, it yielded the single Bloodline which bears a passing resemblance to Belly.

From the touring band she formed to promote Invisible Ones arose Art in Manila, who have so far released one album, Set the Woods on Fire.

The most recent of her many projects is O+S, a collaboration with longtime friend Cedric LeMoyne (aka Scalpelist) from the band Remy Zero, which has so far yielded one self-titled album.

In 2009 Orenda released her second solo album, the acoustic Ask The Night. In places the album echoes some of Azure Ray's starker pieces, such as Raining in Athens, foregrounding Fink's distinctive banjo playing and invoking the traditional soundscape of the American South.

Orenda is married to Todd Fink (formerly Todd Baechle) of The Faint, another Saddle Creek band.

Her official site is at http://www.orendafink.com.

Leave It All
Orenda Fink Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

On a bridge by the mill
I laid down my life
I opened my arms
Embraced the night
And with no wings to fly
I fell
I leave it all
I leave it all

The things that I said
I'd take them back if I could
The god to whom I prayed,
Played a trick on me good
Now I see his face, it's just as well
I leave it all, I leave it all
I leave it all

Vanishing into the night
I leave it all
I leave it all

I leave it all
I leave it all

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Orenda Fink's song Leave It All speak of the singer's desire to let go of everything and everybody she knows and start anew. The singer finds herself on a bridge by the mill, almost giving up or surrendering herself to the darkness of the night. She opens up her arms, embracing the change that is about to come. Despite having no means to escape, she falls, letting go of everything she once had behind. She accepts that this exit is inevitable and that a new life awaits her.

Further, the singer reflects on things that she has said or done in the past. She wishes to take them back but also acknowledges that this is impossible. In acknowledging her uncertain circumstances, the singer comes to realize that the god she once prayed to had played a trick on her. Despite the unexpected twist, she remains firm in her decision to leave everything behind. She declares that she is vanishing into the night and leaving everything behind. Ultimately, the song is a message to anyone who finds themselves at a crossroads in their life, reminding them that letting go of our past is often the key to finding our future.

Line by Line Meaning

On a bridge by the mill
I was standing on a bridge by the mill

I laid down my life
I gave up on everything I had

I opened my arms
I welcomed the uncertainty

Embraced the night
I embraced my fears

And with no wings to fly
I had no means to escape

I fell, I leave it all
I fell, leaving everything behind

The things that I said
The words I spoke before

I'd take them back if I could
I would take them back if I had a chance

The god to whom I prayed,
The divine entity I worshipped before

Played a trick on me good
Deceived me cleverly

Now I see his face, it's just as well
I finally see the deception and have come to accept it