"(Seth Glier… Read Full Bio ↴SETH GLIER: THINGS I SHOULD LET YOU KNOW (Official Bio)
"(Seth Glier's) exquisite tenor echoes Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel.” - USA TODAY
Singer-songwriter and Grammy® nominee Seth Glier knows the challenges of emerging into adulthood all too well. Over the course of just a few short years, Glier has gone from opening act to headlining his own shows as well as major folk festivals, all culminating in a nod from the Grammys® this year for the work he did on his sophomore record, THE NEXT RIGHT THING. Having spent the majority of his teens and early twenties on the road, the now 24-year-old Massachusetts native describes his new album THINGS I SHOULD LET YOU KNOW as "a reckoning with adulthood.”
THINGS I SHOULD LET YOU KNOW offers one young man’s perspective through expertly crafted stories entwined with exceptional musicianship and rife with incredible lyrical detail. Glier’s songs aim straight for the gut and cast light on the challenges of adult life, through the lens of the everyday person.
For his third album on MPress Records, Glier opened himself for the first time to the opportunity of working with co-writers. As he explains: “I co-wrote a tune with Livingston Taylor, and a few with Ellis Paul and Marshall Altman. I’m very protective of my words, so co-writing seemed scary, but in the end I trusted these writers and we found a common vision.” Glier, who has received two Independent Music Awards for his previous works, self-produced this LP, THINGS I SHOULD LET YOU KNOW with longtime collaborator Ryan Hommel and brought on Grammy® Nominee John Shyloski (Johnny Winter, Stephen Kellogg) to mix and master.
Since the release of 2011’s THE NEXT RIGHT THING, Glier has shared the stage with artists as diverse as James Taylor, Ani DiFranco, Martin Sexton, Toad The Wet Sprocket and Edwin McCain. A troubadour in every sense of the word, he plays over 250+ shows a year, and when it came time to pen this record he decided to do it from the road. Bits and pieces of songs were strewn across state lines, sung into mattresses, recorded in one fan’s kitchen in Cleveland and on another’s rooftop in San Francisco. As Glier asserts, “I wanted ‘Things I Should Let You Know’ to be a transformative experience for the listeners and I knew it couldn’t be if I wasn’t being transformed along the way.”
The title THINGS I SHOULD LET YOU KNOW might suggest something secretive, or that the young songsmith has something to hide. However, as Glier is quick to clarify, in fact the opposite is true. "This record is about confession, it’s about baring all your skeletons in the light of day, making some much needed room in your closet, and living wide open."
The album’s opener and title track is a stark confession accompanied by layered vocals and a hushed and haunting musical arrangement. One of the last songs composed for the album, it marks a brash departure from formula and sets the listener up for an expansive ride full of cinematic twists and turns. From the driving, story-telling pop of “Man I Used To Be” to the uplifting, New Orleans-influenced “New World I See”, Glier’s impressive range as a vocalist, pianist and guitarist stirs the listener to reflection, the same way writing it did for Seth.
As a national spokesperson for the Autism Awareness Foundation, an advocate for Musicians On Call, and with a ROCK THE VOTE Road Trip 2012 stop under his belt, Glier has become increasingly comfortable expressing his social beliefs, both onstage and off. Not surprisingly, when pressed for what song he is most proud of on the album, Glier chooses the Woody Guthrie-inspired “Plastic Soldiers” “because it’s definitely the most political song on the record.” In his signature narrative style, Glier sings from the point of view of a father and soldier, coming to terms with his choices in life and refusing to lead his son down the same path.
On the chilling and intimate “Too Hard To Hold The Moon”, Glier gets incredibly personal, dropping the character shield and revealing that the track ”is about my Mom and Dad…about my Mom standing by my father as he learns to live in sobriety.”
Everything comes full circle with the album’s powerful closer, “I Am Only As Loved As I Am Open”. Amidst a swirling drone of harmonium, pump organ and bowing strings, Seth Glier ascends into adulthood by delivering his most mature collection of songs yet - revering acceptance and reveling in self-discovery.
THINGS I SHOULD LET YOU KNOW will be available nationwide January 12, 2013. For an updated tour schedule and Seth’s complete discography, visit www.sethglier.com.
Good Man
Seth Glier Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She's stumbling for the bathroom light
She's changing everything
I know her in this bed
I know her beauty and hesitations
Sometimes she's my train
and sometimes she's the station
I'm good on my own
That fits like a glove
Feels like this love
Left in my heart
I'm a really good, really good man
I'm a really good, really good man
Learning to love again
I'm a really good, really good man
My oh my, looks like the storm has fled
Cause I used to feel the loneliest when someone shared my bed
Bereft and still hurting
But I called it being free
Now unlocking and learning
Under the heat of your body
I'm a really good, really good man
I'll be a really good, really good man
Learning to love again
I'm a really good, really good
Man who knows the best of you
When your memories unraveled
In my eyes you'll find the truth
When the judgement cracks its gavel
I'll kiss you like an outlaw
Hold your heart when it hits the wall
Dance you down to the edge of it all
To the edge of it all
I'm a really good, really good man
I'll be a really good, really good man
I'm still learning to love again
I'm still learning to love again
My oh my, look what the wind blew in
The lyrics of Seth Glier’s song “Good Man” are very poetic, with a lot of imagery and symbolism. The song seems to be about a man who has been hurt in the past and is now trying to open his heart again, to love and be loved. He describes the woman he is with as someone full of mystery, beauty, and contradictions, who can be both his guide and his destination. He recognizes that he is a good man, but he is still learning to love again and to trust himself and his feelings.
The first stanza of the song sets the tone for the rest of it. The woman in question is stumbling in the dark, changing everything around her. She seems to be a force of nature, like the wind that blows in unexpected things. The man knows her intimately, in bed and out of it, and he recognizes how complex and multifaceted she is. She can be both the train that takes him places and the station that he returns to. He is good on his own, but he acknowledges that there is a spark missing in his life, something that he hopes she can provide.
In the second stanza, the man reflects on how lonely he used to feel even when he was sharing his bed with someone. He pretended to be free, but in fact, he was hurting and bereft. Now, with this new woman, he is unlocking and learning, discovering new things about himself and his capacity for love. He knows that he is still a work in progress, but he also knows that he is a good man, and he can see the best in her even when her memories unravel. He is willing to be her outlaw, to kiss her and hold her heart when it hits the wall, and he is willing to dance her down to the edge of it all, to the place where they can both take a leap of faith.
Line by Line Meaning
My oh my, look what the wind blew in
I am surprised and delighted by your arrival, as though a gust of wind blew you in.
She's stumbling for the bathroom light
She is disoriented and trying to find the light switch in the bathroom.
She's changing everything
Her presence is affecting and transforming everything about his life.
I know her in this bed
He has a deep and intimate knowledge of his partner when they are in bed together.
I know her beauty and hesitations
He is familiar with both her physical beauty and the things that cause her to hesitate or hold back.
Sometimes she's my train
and sometimes she's the station
She alternates between being the driving force and the grounding presence in his life.
I'm good on my own
He is content to be by himself and doesn't need anyone else to feel fulfilled.
Don't know this mystery lost or spark
That fits like a glove
Feels like this love
Left in my heart
He doesn't know what has been missing in his life, but he feels like this love could be the answer.
I'm a really good, really good man
Learning to love again
I'm a really good, really good man
He is a good man who is working on overcoming his past grievances and opening himself up to love again.
My oh my, looks like the storm has fled
The troubles of his past seem to have faded away now that he has found love.
Cause I used to feel the loneliest when someone shared my bed
Bereft and still hurting
But I called it being free
Despite being with someone, he felt lonely and sad, but he convinced himself that he was free.
Now unlocking and learning
Under the heat of your body
He is slowly opening up and learning to love again, helped by the warmth of his partner's body.
Man who knows the best of you
When your memories unraveled
In my eyes you'll find the truth
When the judgement cracks its gavel
As someone who knows her intimately, he will be there for her when she unravels and needs support, and will always be honest with her.
I'll kiss you like an outlaw
Hold your heart when it hits the wall
Dance you down to the edge of it all
To the edge of it all
He will always be there for her, even in tough times, taking risks and pushing boundaries together.
I'm still learning to love again
I'm still learning to love again
He is still working on opening his heart up to love again.
Contributed by Zoe Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.