On The Floor of Heaven is considered by many of those who got to hear it upon its initial release in 1993 as one of the great, unheralded achievements of the alt-country movement. Out of print for more than 15 years, the roots rock masterpiece is now reissued as a two-disc Deluxe Edition via Bumstead Records on June 1.
Formed in Vancouver in the early 1990s, The Blue Shadows consisted of guitarist and singer Billy Cowsill – who began his career as leader of the legendary American bubblegum group The Cowsills (of "The Rain, The Park & Other Things" fame) – and Canadian roots rocker Jeffrey Hatcher – who enjoyed cult success in the 1980s fronting Jeffrey Hatcher & The Big Beat. Together with drummer J.B. Johnson and bassist Elmar Spanier (later replaced by Barry Muir), the quartet forged a style built on the rustic sounds of classic country fused with the pop sensibility of The Beatles and tight harmony vocals that have drawn flattering comparisons to the Everly Brothers.
From the opening fiddle-fueled blast of "Coming On Strong" to the haunting climax "Is Anybody Here," On The Floor of Heaven is a feast for fans of hardscrabble country and 60s pop, packed full of Hatcher and Cowsill's inventive songwriting and immaculately nuanced vocal harmonies, the quartet's muscular rhythmic punch and Hatcher's tasteful, twangful touches on lead guitar. Songs such as "When Will This Heartache End?" or the anthemic, mournful title track are both throwbacks to a classic era before country and rock and roll went their separate ways and timeless in the stories the songs tell and the emotions they evoke.
Despite releasing two albums, garnering critical raves and touring extensively around North America, The Blue Shadows never managed to reach beyond a wildly devoted cult following and they broke up in 1996. Cowsill passed away in Calgary in February 2006. One of his last wishes was for a reissue of On The Floor of Heaven so it could finally find a wider audience.
On The Floor of Heaven: Deluxe Edition includes:
- The classic 12-track album with remastered audio
- A full disc of outtakes and cover songs including tracks originally recorded by George Jones, Merle Haggard, Joni Mitchell and Michel Pagliaro.
- All new packaging
- Downloadable detailed history of the band and song-by-song notes written by Jeffrey Hatcher available at www.bumstead.com/theblueshadows
The time is right for The Blue Shadows to finally cast a giant shadow across music history.
The Embers
The Blue Shadows Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Long after the fire
Old memories returning
Like your voice on the wire
Oh our love's in ashes
You're still my one desire
And the embers keep burning long after the fire
Unkind words were spoken
But we said them in hast
Now two hearts are broken
True love is nothing to waste
But my memories are ashes
There's this haunting desire
Cuz the embers keep burning long after the fire
Oh and burn they will, right up until eternity
Not all the fire has burned
But I have learned this flame will reach no higher
Still the embers keep burning long after the fire
But my memories are ashes
That leave this haunting desire
And the embers keep burning long after the fire
Yes the embers keep burning long after the fire
The Blue Shadows' song "The Embers" is a classic country ballad expressing the pain of lost love and the enduring memories that remain long after a relationship has ended. The lyrics describe the residual passion that remains when a flame of love has died out, using imagery of embers that continue to smolder even after a fire has gone out. The first verse describes how memories of a past love come back to the singer like the sound of a voice on the wire. The second verse acknowledges that hurtful words were spoken in the heat of the moment, but now that the relationship is over, both hearts are broken. Despite this, the singer still feels a powerful desire for the other person, even though the love they shared is reduced to ashes.
The chorus repeats the idea of the embers continuing to burn long after the fire, indicating that the memories and feelings of love that remain are not easily extinguished. The third verse reinforces this idea, saying that despite the passage of time, the embers of love will continue to burn "until eternity." The song concludes with a final refrain of the chorus, underscoring the longevity of the emotions that remain even when a love affair is over.
Line by Line Meaning
The embers keep burning
Despite the fire going out, the embers of our love still persist.
Long after the fire
Even though time has passed, the embers continue to burn.
Old memories returning
Recollections of the past coming back again.
Like your voice on the wire
Like the sound of your voice on the phone.
Oh our love's in ashes
Our love has deteriorated to nothing.
You're still my one desire
However, you're still the one thing I want.
And the embers keep burning long after the fire
Despite everything, the embers of love continue to burn on.
Unkind words were spoken
We said some hurtful things in the past.
But we said them in hast
We spoke without thinking through the consequences.
Now two hearts are broken
Both of us are left with heartbreak.
True love is nothing to waste
The love we had was valuable and not something to throw away.
But my memories are ashes
Even though the memories are there, they are as good as gone.
There's this haunting desire
Despite it all, there's still a desire that lingers.
Oh and burn they will, right up until eternity
The embers will keep burning forever.
Not all the fire has burned
There's still some fire left in the embers.
But I have learned this flame will reach no higher
However, I have come to the realization that the fire won't get any stronger.
Still the embers keep burning long after the fire
The embers continue to burn on even after the fire has gone out.
Yes the embers keep burning long after the fire
There's no stopping the embers from burning on.
Contributed by Julia P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.