For the past fifteen years, the members of Scalawag have been no strangers to the musical landscape of New England. It was during this time, while performing in bands such as Marty Keystone, Full Tilt Boogie, The Freeks, and The Makem and Spain Brothers, that the groundwork for this new group was being laid. After crossing paths and sitting in with each other at various shows, a musical friendship was born. In late 2002, they decided the time was right to begin this new collaboration.
For three months the band holed up in a south Manchester, NH house and began to work out what should become the Scalawag sound. They wanted to incorporate the rhythms of Sun Records recordings, the musical simplicity of Woody Guthrie, the lyrical storytelling of an early Springsteen, the loose grooves of The Rolling Stones, and the musicianship of The Band. When they emerged, Scalawag was able to create a sound that was reminiscent of all of these artists, yet unique unto itself.
In the four years following the formation of the band, Scalawag has been perfecting their live shows while constantly playing venues throughout northern New England. In between these performances, the members of the band have also been demonstrating their strong songwriting skills, penning dozens of songs, resulting in their debut release "Wheel on Steel"
http://scalawagmusic.com/
They have a myspace too =).
http://myspace.com/scalawagmusic
One Heart
Scalawag Lyrics
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In the middle of a space where
The quiet embrace of the night time holds us up
Why do our tears fall,
When we're sitting on the asphalt
Awaiting the warmth that we′ve missed
From the middle of this one heart
But it won't stop now, no it won't stop now
With the safety of this one heart
Why do we laugh when we′re broken
Running in circles again until we've reached the drain
Why are we so damn hard on what we do
When we clearly see we′ve made a dream come true
Why do we laugh when we're so far gone
That we don′t remind us of ourselves
Maybe the bags under our eyes are tellin' 'em sweet little lies
′Bout where we′re from, what we've done,
And maybe a little ′bout why we're on the run
But maybe the thing we need to know
Was really inside us all along
But it won′t stop now, no it won't stop now
No it won′t stop 'til we've filled our minds
With the safety of this one heart.
The lyrics of Scalawag's song One Heart reflect on the emotions and contradictions that we experience in life. The lines "Why do we cry when we're safe, in the middle of a space where the quiet embrace of the nighttime holds us up" depict how even in a place that feels secure, we can still feel emotional and vulnerable. The tears fall even when we experience safety and comfort, and we yearn for warmth that we may have lost. It is with the protection of a 'One Heart' that we can find comfort and security in life.
In contrast, the lyrics also question why we laugh when we are broken and why we are hard on ourselves for the challenges we face. Even in situations where we have achieved our dreams, we may find ourselves scrutinizing our efforts and looking for the next challenge. The lyrics suggest that these emotions may come from a place of insecurity and fear, leading us to hide behind lies and masks. However, the true answer we seek may lie within us all along, waiting for us to recognize it. The 'One Heart' may provide that sense of safety and can be the guiding force for us to overcome our fears and find true happiness in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Why do we cry when we're safe,
Why do we experience sadness even when we're in a safe environment?
In the middle of a space where
In the midst of a place that feels peaceful
The quiet embrace of the night time holds us up
The silence of the night brings comfort
Why do our tears fall,
Why do we cry
When we're sitting on the asphalt
When we're on the ground
Awaiting the warmth that we've missed
Hoping for the sense of belonging we've been deprived of
From the middle of this one heart
From the center of a community
But it won't stop now, no it won't stop now
The feeling won't go away anytime soon
No it won't stop 'til we've filled our minds
The yearning will persist until we fill our hearts
With the safety of this one heart
With the sense of security provided by this community
Why do we laugh when we're broken
Why do we find joy in tough times
Running in circles again until we've reached the drain
Going around in circles until we hit rock bottom
Why are we so damn hard on what we do
Why do we critique ourselves so harshly
When we clearly see we've made a dream come true
Even though we've achieved our goals
Why do we laugh when we're so far gone
Why do we find humor in our desperation
That we don't remind us of ourselves
We don't recognize who we are anymore
Maybe the bags under our eyes are tellin' 'em sweet little lies
Perhaps we're hiding our true emotions
'Bout where we're from, what we've done,
About our past and achievements
And maybe a little 'bout why we're on the run
And why we're trying to escape from reality
But maybe the thing we need to know
Perhaps what we need to realize
Was really inside us all along
Has been within us from the start
With the safety of this one heart.
Only by being part of a safe community can we find peace.
Contributed by Juliana T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.