On September 22, 2009, Sea Wolf's sophomore album, White Water, White Bloom was released by Dangerbird Records. The album was produced by Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Monsters of Folk, M. Ward) at his studio in Omaha.
Sea Wolf contributed a song entitled “Song of the Magpie” to the audio book for Augusten Burroughs’ book “A Wolf at the Table.” Burroughs asked Sea Wolf’s Alex Brown Church to read the book and respond with an original song.
In addition to Alex Brown Church, the other members of Sea Wolf are currently Lisa Fendelander (keyboards), Theodore Liscinski (bass), Joey Ficken (drums), Nathan Anderson (guitar), and Joyce Lee (cello).
The band's third album, Old World Romance, was released in 2012.
After fulfilling Sea Wolf's contract with the label, the band took to Kickstarter in 2013 to fund a striped-down album with simliar tones to the early days of Sea Wolf. The project was fully-funded and released to backers in May 2014. The album, Song Spells, No. 1: Cedarsmoke was released on Spotify and on seawolfmusic.com as a free-or-pay-what-you-want in July 2014. Alex Brown Church stated that there are plans for additional "Song Spells" albums.
Song For The Dead
Sea Wolf Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The black of the morning
All shimmery jewels
From the voice of a fool
Echoes through the halls
Of the building
He built in her place
And dream of her mister
The picture he drew her
Resembled her sister
Oh how the wind
Can pull you in
Or push you away
You'll move like a tiger
Into the thicket
Claws in the dirt
You'll sing like a cricket
Song of the mystery
Song of the system
Song for the guilty
Song for the living
Song for the dead
A comma of silence
Relieves all the violence
You've dragged into bed
With the sheets soaking red
It's a glimmer of light
Through a prism
That's calling a truce
With your beautiful hair
So displayed on the chair
And your head on the arm
And your legs in the air
And the words dancing out
From your lips
Like a sad ballet
Now move like a tiger
Into the thicket
Claws in the dirt
You'll sing like a cricket
Song of the mystery
Song of the system
Song for the guilty
Song for the living
Song for the dead
You'll move like a tiger
Into the thicket
Claws in the dirt
You'll sing like a cricket
Long for the mystery
Long for the system
Long for the guilty
Long for the living
Move like a tiger
Into the thicket
Claws in the dirt
You'll sing like a cricket
Song for the mystery
Song for the system
Song for the guilty
Song for the living
Song for the dead
Song for the dead
Song for
The lyrics of Sea Wolf's "Song For The Dead" evoke a sense of loss, pain, and longing. The opening lines "Awake without warning, The black of the morning" suggest a sudden awakening from sleep to the reality of grief. The singer notes how the glittery jewels of the morning are empty when heard through the voice of a foolish person. The echoes through the halls of the building built in her place suggest the empty void she has left behind. The song touches on the raw feelings of the singer after the loss of a loved one.
The singer then talks about how the singer finds solace in dreams of his lost love but also suggests that the dreams are painful, as the picture he drew of her resembled her sister, which must be a painful reminder of his loss. "Oh how the wind can pull you in or push you away" suggests the fickle nature of life - how it can lift and drop one's spirits.
The song culminates in several repeated phrases encouraging the listener to move like a tiger, claws in the dirt, and to sing like a cricket. The song speaks of a need for introspection and taking joy in small things, even amidst life's difficulties and mysteries.
Line by Line Meaning
Awake without warning
Waking up unexpectedly
The black of the morning
The darkness of the early morning
All shimmery jewels
The beauty of the surroundings
From the voice of a fool
A meaningless chatter in the background
Echoes through the halls
The sound echoing through the empty building
Of the building
The building that he built in her memory
He built in her place
He built the building as a tribute to her
He'll shake through the winter
He'll endure through the harsh winter
And dream of her mister
And imagine her husband's presence
The picture he drew her
The art he created for her
Resembled her sister
Which looked like her sister
Oh how the wind
The wind's powerful force
Can pull you in
Can draw someone closer
Or push you away
Or push someone farther
You'll move like a tiger
You'll move with grace and strength
Into the thicket
Into the dense forest
Claws in the dirt
Digging into the ground
You'll sing like a cricket
You'll make noise like a cricket
Song of the mystery
A song about the unknown
Song of the system
A song about the way things work
Song for the guilty
A song for those who feel remorse
Song for the living
A song for those who are alive
Song for the dead
A song for those who have passed away
A comma of silence
A brief moment of quiet
Relieves all the violence
Helps ease the tension
You've dragged into bed
The emotions he carries to bed
With the sheets soaking red
The sheets stained with his blood
It's a glimmer of light
The small hope
Through a prism
Seen through a different perspective
That's calling a truce
Encouraging peace and forgiveness
With your beautiful hair
Referring to a lover's hair
So displayed on the chair
The hair left on the chair
And your head on the arm
The lover resting on the arm of a chair or bed
And your legs in the air
Lover's legs raised in the air
And the words dancing out
The words spoken eloquently
From your lips
From the lover's mouth
Like a sad ballet
Illusion of beauty amidst sadness
Long for the mystery
Seeking answers to the unknown
Long for the system
Yearning for an understanding of how things work
Long for the guilty
Longing for redemption for one's past sins
Long for the living
Longing for the love and companionship of the living
Lyrics © REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING
Written by: ALEX BROWN CHURCH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind