Outside his semi-professional role as a musician, he works as an elementary school teacher. His father, Steven Von Till, Sr, is a civil attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area, United States.
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Perhaps the history of the song is innate within us. At least that's what we might glean from Steve Von Till's third Neurot Recordings solo outing A Grave is a Grim Horse. Intertwined with interpretations of songs by Nick Drake, Townes Van Zandt, Mickey Newberry and Lyle Lovett, Von Till's powerful yet subtly graceful originals merge with a lexicon that manifests as something beyond signature, something beyond the concept of persona that popular culture has repeatedly sold us over the past 50 years. Where his previous releases showed reverence for folk music forms of the past, A Grave is a Grim Horse peers directly inward, drawing from this history of song and earnestly embracing the need we all share to etch our mark upon the artifacts that will ultimately survive us.
Listening to the album, there's a troubling theme that reveals itself only when we're not seeking it. It tells us that we are nothing more than part of the sum of an elusive whole, but sometimes the patterns that define us can be harnessed, as they are here. And, what's most striking about the album is that Von Till's originals are so immediately captivating and threadbare that they seem more familiar upon first listen than the works of the time-honored songwriters to whom he pays tribute. Songs like the title track and "Looking for Dry Land" show Von Till coming into his own as a composer and arranger, perfectly adorning songs with flourishes of swooping strings, pedal steel, organ, et al. There's a somber restraint throughout, allowing the plaintive melodies to elevate each song beneath Von Till's breathy whisper that's reminiscent of similarly raspy, whiskey-throttled voices of Mark Lanegan and Michael Gira.
Steve Von Till is most widely recognized as vocalist and guitarist in Bay Area heavy post-psychedelic punk legends Neurosis. But, the breadth of his talents and interests reaching far beyond that band's thunderous intensity have been well established over the course of related projects like the experimental offshoot Tribes of Neurot, psych-drone band Harvestman and acoustic guitar based solo releases As the Crow Flies (2000) and If I Should Fall to the Field (2002). Von Till's intense obsession with ancestry and many things ancient is deeply ingrained in all his work, but none more than within his solo recordings. His first two albums focused intently upon sounds and stories of ages past, eloquently serving to reconnect with forgotten mythologies and long-buried verse. While the same reverence remains on A Grave is a Grim Horse, it is also Von Till's most personal and confident effort to date. Having traded city life for a rural existence in the open skies, wilderness and dense forests of Northern Idaho, the songwriter's dedication to these transcendent themes seem all the more focused and equally freed from contemporary trappings.
Ages ago, folk songs traveled through human history like a plague mutating and adapting the characteristics of each carrier and compounding the ghostly weight of the past. Von Till shows a depth and breadth to his songwriting that makes If I Should Fall to the Field flow like the bloodlines that connect us all.
The album opens with the parched weight of the title track, as the singer mournfully strums a bleary twanging guitar line, yearning for a departed elder, singing, "what the dead reveal to the living/ My blanket can't keep out this cold/ A grave is a grim horse to ride." The last line poignantly punctuated by a loud, chiming guitar line drenched in reverb. "Clothes of Sand" is a reinterpretation of a rare Nick Drake song, unreleased in his lifetime, that Von Till makes his own by fitting its claustrophobic candor with a smudged, fatalistic sounding string accompaniment. Elsewhere, "Valley of the Moon" is a deeply impassioned account that seems both a chronicle of the singer's own pilgrimage in anticipation of catastrophes to come as an echo of those who'd previously endured similar hardships. While the song sounds wholly autobiographical, it is inspired by the Jack London book of the same name that eerily parallels Von Till's own exodus from city life. "Looking For Dry Land" is a moving attempt to reconnect to that very humanity that has long since departed. The finality of album closer "Gravity" is incredibly moving. "What's done is done/ What's gone is gone" Von Till sings seemingly simultaneously to bid farewell to a past, a loved one...perhaps even all of us.
It's a resignation, just as the title suggests, echoing that of an old Irish limerick of the grim horse that delivers us to whatever may lie beyond this life. And, at the same time, it's an immense release to realize that we've only played a temporary host to this virus of song. A Grave is a Grim Horse is a beautiful vessel to that end.
http://www.vontill.org
Breathe
Steve Von Till Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Each grain of sand beneath the sea
You have no faith in a dream
Fade into the landspace, unseem
In a field of weeds, killing time
A winding river rushes by
All the while you seem to be going blind
Breathe in, breathe deep
A lifetime is too long to sleep
Staring at lightning won't keep you warm
You hear the thunder, but can't get out of the storm
Growing weak and thin
This has to end where it begins
Waiting for winter's first snow
To cover your tracks, so no-one will know
That you ever lived, or ever lied
You wouldn't give, never tried
No words worth air ever sound
From a flightless bird, bound to the ground
Breathe in, breathe deep
A lifetime is too long to sleep
Staring at lightning won't keep you warm
You hear the thunder, but can't get out of the storm
The lyrics of Steve Von Till's "Breathe" convey a sense of disillusionment and lack of faith, both in oneself and in the world around us. The opening lines, "You don't believe what you don't see/Each grain of sand beneath the sea," suggest a skepticism that borders on nihilism: if we can't see or touch something, it doesn't exist.
The second verse paints a picture of someone stuck in a rut, or "killing time" in a field of weeds while a river flows by. They are "going blind" but seem unaware of it, as if they are sleepwalking through life. The image of a "cold numb grey" in their eyes evokes a sense of emptiness and isolation.
The chorus, "Breathe in, breathe deep/A lifetime is too long to sleep/Staring at lightning won't keep you warm/You hear the thunder, but can't get out of the storm," encourages the listener to wake up, to be present and engaged in their life rather than sleepwalking through it. The metaphor of a storm is used to convey the sense of chaos and disorientation that comes with feeling lost and disconnected.
The final verse continues the theme of a life wasted, with the singer waiting for winter's snow to "cover your tracks, so no-one will know/That you ever lived, or ever lied." The sense of shame and guilt is palpable, with the singer feeling as though they have nothing of value to offer the world. The final line, "From a flightless bird, bound to the ground," is particularly poignant, suggesting a lack of agency and a resigned acceptance of one's fate.
Overall, "Breathe" is a powerful meditation on the human condition, and the struggle to find meaning in a world that often seems indifferent.
Line by Line Meaning
You don't believe what you don't see
You lack trust in what's uncertain.
Each grain of sand beneath the sea
All things, no matter how small, exist and contribute to the bigger picture.
You have no faith in a dream
You don't have confidence in pursuing an aspiration.
Fade into the landscape, unseem
Disappear into the surroundings unnoticeably.
In a field of weeds, killing time
Wasting time in an unproductive environment.
A winding river rushes by
The continuity of life moves forward despite everything else.
All the while you seem to be going blind
You are oblivious to meaningful experiences.
A cold numb grey in your eyes
You're emotionally and spiritually drained.
Breathe in, breathe deep
Take control of your thoughts and feelings.
A lifetime is too long to sleep
Don't let your existence go to waste.
Staring at lightning won't keep you warm
Don't cling to hopelessness.
You hear the thunder, but can't get out of the storm
You are enduring difficulties beyond your control.
Growing weak and thin
Becoming frail and lacking vitality.
This has to end where it begins
The cycle must be broken from its start.
Waiting for winter's first snow
Awaiting a new beginning.
To cover your tracks, so no-one will know
To conceal past actions or behavior.
That you ever lived, or ever lied
Erasing the memory of one's existence or dishonesty.
You wouldn't give, never tried
You lack the will to make an effort.
No words worth air ever sound
Your communications are meaningless.
From a flightless bird, bound to the ground
From someone unable to reach their full potential.
Contributed by Jake D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Subtopia Destatica
You don't believe what you don't see
Each grain of sand beneath the sea
You have no faith in a dream
Fade into the landspace, unseen
In a field of weeds, killing time
A winding river rushes by
All the while you seem to be going blind
A cold numb grey in your eyes
Breathe in, breathe deep
A lifetime is too long to sleep
Staring at lightning won't keep you warm
You hear the thunder, but can't get out of the storm
Growing weak and thin
This has to end where it begins
Waiting for winter's first snow
To cover your tracks, so no-one will know
That you ever lived, or ever lied
You wouldn't give, never tried
No words worth air ever sound
From a flightless bird, bound to the ground
Breathe in, breathe deep
A lifetime is too long to sleep
Staring at lightning won't keep you warm
You hear the thunder, but can't get out of the storm
Kendrick Jahn
Awesome tune.
Kris Mendyk
Genius
Fastidio Vizio
🖤
Dillon Belt
Yup