Cooper's sophomore album, "Family Tree: The Roots" was released in October 2011. It is the first of the trilogy record called "The Family Tree" which follows the story of a fictional family from 1800 to 1950. Following "The Roots" will be "The Branches" and "The Relatives" respectively.
In between his first two Radical Face records Ben released two EP's to fill the gap. The first was "Touch The Sky". In the summer of 2011 "The Bastards Volume 1" EP was released. Other volumes will compliment the fore-coming Family Tree trilogy.
Under his 'Radical Face' moniker his music features acoustic guitar, "found-sound" percussion, and many multi-layered tracks. The sound is incredibly unique, not only because of Cooper's originality and raw talent, but also because most of the music has traditionally been recorded in the shed in his backyard.
Website: www.radicalface.com
Echoes
Radical Face Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quietly cleaning his guns while we sat
And watched the sun set from the roof
Drinking stolen beer
The day I turned twelve
And Momma was losing her mind
So we built a home in the woods
With a knife we found beneath the house
The day you turned twelve
And I am always reminded of lies
That we told, but never meant
And at night when I still hear you grin
Like an echo sounding from my sins
Come on, let me in
I remember the cast on your arm
From when we were convinced we could fly
And how we covered it up in fake names
To make it seem like you were famous
When you came back to school
And sure, we never had much
But we did just as we pleased
We had no concern for anything
Beyond the day we were living in
We had no need to dream
And I am always reminded of lies
That we told, but never meant
And at night I could still hear you grin
Like an echo sounding from my sins
Come on, let me in
Radical Face's song Echoes is a beautiful story of two individuals growing up together, facing their respective struggles, and coming of age in a strange world. The song is an ode to the memories and experiences that both of them had and the connection that they shared. The first verse portrays a father who is drunk and cleaning his guns while the children sat on the roof and watched the sunset, a reflection of a fraught and perhaps dangerous environment. They sat and drank stolen beer on the day the singer turned twelve. The second verse describes a mother who was seemingly losing her mind, which prompted them to build a home in the woods together. It was then the day of the second protagonist's twelfth birthday, and the occasion was marked by carving their names on a sign with a knife they found beneath the house.
The lines "And I am always reminded of lies that we told, but never meant. And at night when I still hear you grin like an echo sounding from my sins, come on, let me in." brings about a feeling of nostalgia and remembrance. It talks about the many lies that they told each other, not with the intention of deceit but perhaps to create a better, more whimsical world with their imagination. The singer always hears the other's laughter and feels a connection to it, even though they may have grown apart or had differences.
Line by Line Meaning
Father was drunk on the porch
My father was intoxicated, sitting outside while we were present.
Quietly cleaning his guns while we sat
He was silently washing his firearms while we were nearby.
And watched the sun set from the roof
We witnessed the sunset from the top of the house.
Drinking stolen beer
We were consuming beer taken unlawfully.
The day I turned twelve
This happened when I had my twelfth birthday.
And Momma was losing her mind
My mother's mental health was deteriorating.
So we built a home in the woods
As a result, we constructed a shelter in the forest.
And I carved our names in the sign
I engraved our names onto the placard.
With a knife we found beneath the house
We discovered a blade beneath the residence and employed it.
The day you turned twelve
This happened when you celebrated your twelfth birthday.
And I am always reminded of lies
I keep recollecting the things we said that were not true.
That we told, but never meant
We expressed words that weren't genuine but never intended to deceive anyone.
And at night when I still hear you grin
At night, I hear a resounding echo of your smile.
Like an echo sounding from my sins
It's equivalent to a reparation for my past actions.
Come on, let me in
Please allow me to make amends for what I've done.
I remember the cast on your arm
I recall the injury to your limb.
From when we were convinced we could fly
During a phase in which we erroneously thought we could soar.
And how we covered it up in fake names
We disguised it under false pseudonyms.
To make it seem like you were famous
We did this in order to make it seem like you were someone of note.
When you came back to school
When you returned to school after the incident.
And sure, we never had much
We weren't materially rich.
But we did just as we pleased
However, we did as we desired.
We had no concern for anything
We didn't put much thought into anything.
Beyond the day we were living in
There wasn't much concern for the future.
We had no need to dream
Our lives were perfectly content as they were.
Writer(s): Benjamin Paul Cooper
Contributed by Noah E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Madhusudan Depawat
Father was drunk on the porch
Quietly cleaning his guns
While we sat and watched the sunset from the roof
Drinking stolen beer the day I turned twelve
Mama was losing her mind
So we built a home in the woods
And I carved our names in the side with a knife
We found beneath the house the day you turned twelve
And I am always reminded of lies
That we told but never meant
And at night, well I still hear you grin
Like an echo sounding from my sins
Come on, let me in
I remember the cast on your arm
From when we were convinced we could fly
And we covered it up in fake names to make it seem
Like you were famous when you came back to school
Sure we never had much
But we did just as we pleased
We had no concern for anything beyond the day we were living in
We had no need to dream
And I am always reminded of lies
That we told but never meant
And at night I could still hear your grin
Like an echo sounding from my sins
Come on, let me in
FrostOfDawn
This song needs more attention, 'cause it's awesome.
Flying Gramophone
one of the best songs ever.
FranciscoJxL
It's such a beautiful song!!
I'm guessing it isn't part of The Family Tree, though? It's a very transitional sound between Ghosts and The Family Tree series, I love it so much!
M. Steigervaldt
Hey there Fella's! Here comes the sixth passenger. This is an ethernal masterpiece!
Lucas Tassotti
The best band
Little King Lionheart
This is so beautiful I can't believe there's only five comments wow