Then Came the Morning, the second album by the Southern-born, Brooklyn-based indie-folk trio the Lone Bellow, opens with a crest of churchly piano, a patter of drums, and a fanfare of voices harmonizing like a sunrise. It’s a powerful introduction, enormous and overwhelming, as Zach Williams, Brian Elmquist, and Kanene Pipkin testify mightily to life’s great struggles and joys, heralding the morning that dispels the dark night: “Then came the morning! It was bright, like the light that you kept from your smile!” Working with producer Aaron Dessner of the National, the Lone Bellow has created a sound that mixes folk sincerity, gospel fervor, even heavy metal thunder, but the heart of the band is harmony: three voices united in a lone bellow.
"The feeling I get singing with Zach and Brian is completely natural and wholly electrifying,” says Kanene. “Our voices feel like they were made to sing together."
Long before they combined their voices, the three members of the Lone Bellow were singing on their own. Brian had been writing and recording as a solo artist for more than a decade, with three albums under his own name. Kanene and her husband Jason were living in Beijing, China, hosting open mic nights, playing at local clubs and teaching music lessons. Zach began writing songs in the wake of a family tragedy: After his wife was thrown from a horse, he spent days in the hospital at her bedside, bracing for the worst news. The journal he kept during this period would eventually become his first batch of songs as a solo artist. Happily, his wife made a full recovery.
When Kanene’s brother asked her and Zach to sing “O Happy Day” together at his wedding, they discovered their voices fit together beautifully, but starting a band together seemed impossible when they lived on opposite sides of the world. Brian soon relocated to New York and Kanene moved there to attend culinary school a couple years later. The three got together in their new hometown to work on a few songs of Zach’s, he’d been chipping away at the scene as a solo artist for awhile by then. After hitting those first harmonies did they decide to abandon all other pursuits. Soon the trio was playing all over the city, although they considered Rockwood Music Hall on the Lower East Side to be their home. They opened for the Civil Wars, Dwight Yokam, Brandi Carlile and the Avett Brothers, and their self-titled debut, produced by Nashville’s Charlie Peacock (the Civil Wars, Holly Williams) and released in January 2013, established them as one of the boldest new acts in the Americana movement.
After two hard years of constant touring, the band was exhausted but excited. By 2014, they had written nearly 40 songs on the road and were eager to get them down on tape. After putting together a list of dream producers, they reached out to their first choice, the National guitarist Aaron Dessner, who has helmed albums by the L.A. indie-rock group Local Natives and New York singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten.
“It occurred to me that it would be fun to get together and make music with them,” says Aaron. “My main interest in producing records is community and friendship more than making money. I already do a lot of traveling and working with the National, so when I have to time to work with other artists, it should be fun and meaningful.”
“Aaron is just so kind,” Zach says. “And he has surrounded himself with all these incredibly talented people, like Jonathan Low, the engineer. His brother Bryce [Dessner, also a guitarist for the National] wrote these amazing brass and string arrangements, and he got some of his friends to play with us.”
Dessner and the Lone Bellow spent two weeks recording at Dreamland in upstate New York, a nineteenth-century church that had been converted into a homey studio. The singers found the space to inspire the emotional gravity necessary for the material and the acoustics they were looking for. (For Kanene, Dreamland had one other bonus: “I’m a big Muppets fan, and it looks exactly like the church where Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem lived.”)
Aaron set them up in a circle in what had once been the sanctuary, with microphones hanging in the rafters to capture the sound of their voices bleeding together. Most of the vocals were recorded in single takes, a tactic that adds urgency to songs like “Heaven Don’t Call Me Home” and “If You Don’t Love Me.” “There were a couple of times when somebody sang the wrong word or hit a bad note, and we just had to keep going,” says Zach, who says that recording “Marietta” in particular was daunting—especially the moment near the end when he hits an anguished high note, bends it even higher, and holds it for an impossibly long time. It’s a startling display of vocal range, but it’s also almost unbearably raw in its emotional honesty.
“‘Marietta’ is probably the darkest song on the whole record,” Zach explains, “and it’s based on something that happened between my wife and me. The band was getting ready to record that song when all of a sudden my wife showed up with our youngest baby. It was a great surprise, a beautiful moment. So I was able to go out and sing that song, knowing she was there to help me carry the moment.”
“These are true stories,” says Brian. “These aren’t things we made up. We tried to write some songs that had nothing to do with our personal stories, but we just didn’t respond to them. But we’re best buds, so we know each others’ personal stuff and trust each other to figure out what needs to be said and how to say it.” Case in point: Brian wrote “Call to War” about his own struggles during his twenties, but gave the song to Kanene to sing. “The content is painful and brutal,” she says, “but the imagery, the vocals, they build something delicate and ethereal. That kind of contrast illuminates the true beauty and power of a song.”
Says Brian, “We do this one thing together, and we carry each other. Hopefully that makes the listener want to be a part of it. It becomes a communal thing, which means that there’s never a sad song to sing. It’s more a celebration of the light and the dark.”
-Descendant Records
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Fake Roses
The Lone Bellow Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Elvis postcards on the fridge
Ed lays softly by the ringer
Baby's sleeping in the crib
Old broken taped up tail light
On momma's Monte Carlo
She don't open all the gas bills
Just leaves it on the dashboard
It's a low and lonesome song
When the wind sweeps through the pine
She just turns the TV on
Puts her mind on better times
Takes the long way home from work
Car parked on the wrong side of the bridge
Country gold, Saturday night, and smokes one
You don't have to tell me any of this
It's a low and lonesome song
When the wind sweeps through the pine
She just turns the TV on
Puts her mind on better times
Your heart is breaking
I hear what you're saying
You don't have to tell me anything
He won't come around again
She don't open that front door
She hears that low and lonesome sound
She don't answer anymore.
The Lone Bellow's song "Fake Roses" explores the theme of loss and resignation. The first verse describes the mundane objects around the house—an old broken tail light, Elvis postcards on the fridge, and fake roses on the mantle. These objects point to a sense of cheapness and decay, suggesting that the singer is living in poverty or hardship. However, there is a sense of love and domesticity in this scene, with the baby sleeping in the crib and Ed (a pet perhaps?) softly lying by the ringer.
The second verse turns to the feelings of the woman living in this situation. She takes the long way home from work, parking on the wrong side of the bridge, suggesting that she is trying to avoid something or is afraid of something. When she gets home, she turns on the TV and tries to distract herself from the low and lonesome feeling inside of her. The chorus repeats the same lines, emphasizing the sense of despair and the fleeting moments of hope that the woman searches for.
The final verse brings the song to its conclusion with a sense of finality. The singer acknowledges that the woman's heart is breaking, but she doesn't have to tell him anything – he already knows. The man who won't come around again is perhaps a lover or husband who has abandoned her, leaving her unsure of how to move forward. The woman stops answering the door and retreats into herself. The wind through the pine trees and the low and lonesome sound become the only constant in this scene of decay and loss.
Line by Line Meaning
Fake roses on the mantle
The person has fake flowers on their fireplace.
Elvis postcards on the fridge
There are postcards with pictures of Elvis on the refrigerator.
Ed lays softly by the ringer
A dog named Ed is sleeping next to the telephone.
Baby's sleeping in the crib
A baby is sleeping in the crib.
Old broken taped up tail light
The rear light of the mother's car is broken and fixed with tape.
On momma's Monte Carlo
The car the mother drives is a Monte Carlo.
She don't open all the gas bills
The mother does not open any of the gas bills and leaves them on the car dashboard.
Just leaves it on the dashboard
The mother leaves the gas bills on the dashboard of her car.
It's a low and lonesome song
The music playing creates a sad and lonely atmosphere.
When the wind sweeps through the pine
The sound of the wind blowing through the pine trees adds to the song's melancholy feel.
She just turns the TV on
To distract herself from the sadness around her, the woman turns on the TV.
Puts her mind on better times
The woman tries to think about happier moments in her life.
Takes the long way home from work
The woman takes a longer route home from work.
Car parked on the wrong side of the bridge
The woman's car is parked on the side of the bridge she wasn't supposed to park on.
Country gold, Saturday night, and smokes one
The woman tries to lift her mood by listening to 'country gold' music, smoking a cigarette and enjoying the night.
You don't have to tell me any of this
The artist knows what's going on and doesn't need the woman to explain it.
Your heart is breaking
The woman is feeling sad and heartbroken.
I hear what you're saying
The singer is listening and understands the woman's pain.
He won't come around again
The woman has lost the love of her life and he won't return.
She don't open that front door
The woman avoids opening the front door because she fears it's the man that left her.
She hears that low and lonesome sound
The music that's playing is a reminder of the sadness she feels.
She don't answer anymore
The woman stops answering the door because she knows he won't come back.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Brian Christopher Elmquist, Kanene Donehey Pipkin, Zachary Ray Williams
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TheBadTrad
My Wife and I just saw them live in Birmingham, AL on Oct. 23, including the special acoustic set during the "happy hour" portion. We had driven 12 hours overnight to make the concert and could not have had a better experience. Besides the unbelievable music, they are just the nicest, most sincere people. Their music is definitely special and unique. "Fake Roses" is as close to a perfect song as it gets-lyrically, melodically and every other way. Thank you, Lone Bellow for the most amazing concert experience we've ever had!! Thank you!!!
@lockitdrop
This. Things like this are why The Lone Bellow is one of my favorite bands. The music is outstanding and real. The video really catches that, and I'm just speechless. Well done.
@Kayla_w_l
Gorgeous track from The Lone Bellow, gorgeous portrayal by Virginia Madsen, & gorgeous story from Zach (& Stacy and Edna). Love this all around!
@teresagreiner628
Virginia Madison...met you briefly at the Bond movie premiere. You remain, in my eyes, the most gifted actress. Seeing you alongside my favorite band is such a gift.
@larrymarciniak4191
When a song and video come together this perfectly it is so rare it almost never happens !!!
@larrysulky7614
A great song, beautifully performed, and beautifully brought to life by the very talented Virginia Madsen. Well done, all of you!
@daveslonaker2166
Love this band!! The song is strong and sad, but this video is really dark and you can sense desperation. Powerful images. Virginia Madsen is good at portraying "a better time" and "your heart is breakin'". Both of this band's albums are sooooo good. Fresh and different sound. I've seen them live twice and my son and I had the chance to meet the band after one of the concerts. Very friendly people. Genuine. One of his favorite bands also, and he's just 18. Btw, click on "You Never Need Nobody" to the right. Talk about strong!!!!
@marianna2933
I saw you guys in concert last year in Atlanta with my dad and it was the best concert I've ever seen! I hope to see you again soon! You're songs are so meaningful and beautiful! I want a live album too!
@maryp1726
Love everything about it. The Lone Bellow is absolutely the best.
@juju42680
Absolutely beautiful music you make!!! Thank you for sharing your gifts with the world ✨️🎵💜🎵✨️