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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Good Times
The Lone Bellow Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And she always shows up late
She's a good one still trying
Let's no good time slip away
Gives a bear hug in the morning
Breaks up fights outside of bars
Takes her whiskey neat, her coffee cheap
Boy he's wrestled down his demons
Broke the fall of all his friends
Quotes the Bible and the Koran
Has the heart of fifteen men
Never wonders what you're doing
Never needs the words to say
There's some good ones still trying
Let's no good time slip away
Let no good time slip away
Let no good time slip away
Keep on tryin'
Let no good time slip away
Keep on tryin'
Let no good time slip away
Slow danced with an opera singer
On the stage after the show
Prays the same prayer every supper
Rolls his cigarettes real slow
Keeps a knife inside her pocket
Keeps a pen inside her coat
Keeps her words close to her heart
Keeps that letter that she wrote
He can calm a newborn baby
Saved his own life in a flood
Been tied up by Chinese pirates
Spent the night in his own blood
Hung a hammock in the jungle
Loved one woman all his days
There's some good ones still trying
Let's no good time slip away
Let no good time slip away
Keep on tryin'
Let no good time slip away
Keep on tryin', keep on
Let no good time slip away
Keep on tryin'
Let no good time slip away
Keep on tryin'
Punched a hammerhead in the hog sty
She was looking for a fight
Only tells her stories if you
Stay up late into the night
Danced for rain with the Apache
Had hell's angels on his side
Took confession from a cardinal
Held him down and made him cry
The first one you call on
The last one by your side
Hugs the soldiers in the airport
Not one for long goodbyes
He's not afraid of crying
Never one to look for praise
There's some good ones still trying
Let's no good time slip away
Let no good time slip away
Keep on tryin', keep on tryin'
Let no good time slip away
Keep on tryin'
Let no good time slip away
Keep on tryin'
Let no good time slip away
Keep on tryin'
Keep on tryin'
Tryin', tryin', tryin', tryin'
The lyrics of The Lone Bellow's song, Good Times, carry a message of perseverance and determination. The song talks about people who live their lives to the fullest, despite the challenges they go through. It describes how they keep trying and never let go of the good times.
The first verse describes a woman who is always leaving early and showing up late but is still trying her best. She is someone who hugs her friends tightly and breaks up fights outside bars. She takes her whiskey neat and coffee cheap, and never liked her scars. The second verse talks about a man who has wrestled down his demons and has the heart of fifteen men. He is someone who never wonders what others are doing and never needs words to express himself. He is calm and collected, always trying to make the most of his time.
The song clearly talks about the importance of not letting good times slip away. It is about cherishing every moment and living life to the fullest. The chorus reiterates this message by repeating the line, "Let no good time slip away."
Overall, the song has a positive and upbeat tone that encourages one to keep trying, even during difficult times. It highlights the strength and resilience of the human spirit.
Line by Line Meaning
She's always leaving early
She tends to depart early from places she goes to.
And she always shows up late
She often arrives behind schedule.
She's a good one still trying
Even though she struggles, she perseveres and continues to strive for the best.
Let's no good time slip away
We should make the most of the present moment and not waste time.
Gives a bear hug in the morning
She greets people warmly with big hugs in the morning.
Breaks up fights outside of bars
She intervenes to stop fights that occur outside of bars.
Takes her whiskey neat, her coffee cheap
She likes whiskey without chasers and drinks coffee that's not expensive.
And never liked her scars
She doesn't appreciate the scars she has.
Boy he's wrestled down his demons
He has successfully battled his inner demons.
Broke the fall of all his friends
He helped his friends out in times of need.
Quotes the Bible and the Koran
He references teachings from both the Bible and the Koran.
Has the heart of fifteen men
He has great strength and resilience, equivalent to that of fifteen men combined.
Never wonders what you're doing
He doesn't concern himself with what others are doing.
Never needs the words to say
He doesn't always need to speak, as his actions speak for themselves.
Slow danced with an opera singer
He danced a slow dance with an opera singer on stage after a performance.
Prays the same prayer every supper
He offers the same prayer before every meal.
Rolls his cigarettes real slow
He takes his time to carefully roll his own cigarettes.
Keeps a knife inside her pocket
She carries a knife in her pocket for protection.
Keeps a pen inside her coat
She always has a pen on her, possibly to jot things down or sign documents.
Keeps her words close to her heart
She speaks carefully and cleverly, not revealing too much.
Keeps that letter that she wrote
She holds onto a letter that she wrote, possibly for sentimental reasons.
He can calm a newborn baby
He has the ability to soothe and pacify a newborn baby.
Saved his own life in a flood
He survived a flood by rescuing himself.
Been tied up by Chinese pirates
He has been restrained by pirates from China.
Spent the night in his own blood
He had to endure a painful experience, possibly an injury or accident.
Hung a hammock in the jungle
He hung a hammock while in the jungle, possibly for shelter or relaxation.
Loved one woman all his days
He has loved the same woman for his entire life.
Punched a hammerhead in the hog sty
He physically fought a hammerhead shark in a place where hogs are kept.
She was looking for a fight
She was actively searching for someone or something to fight against.
Only tells her stories if you
She only shares her personal stories if you stay up late enough to hear them.
Stay up late into the night
You must keep yourself awake into the deep hours of the night to hear her stories.
Danced for rain with the Apache
He participated in a traditional Apache rain dance.
Had hell's angels on his side
He had support from the notorious biker group Hell's Angels.
Took confession from a cardinal
He heard the confessions of a religious cardinal.
Held him down and made him cry
He held the cardinal down and caused him to cry, possibly because he shared something emotional during confession.
The first one you call on
He's the first person you contact when you're in need.
The last one by your side
He remains faithful and loyal to you until the end.
Hugs the soldiers in the airport
He embraces soldiers arriving at the airport, possibly to thank them for their service.
Not one for long goodbyes
He doesn't like to say goodbye for extended periods of time.
He's not afraid of crying
He is comfortable with expressing emotions and shedding tears.
Never one to look for praise
He is modest and doesn't seek recognition or gratification from others.
Let's no good time slip away
We should not let any opportunity to have a good time go unused.
Keep on trying
We should continue to make an effort to live our lives to the fullest.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Aaron Dessner, Brian Elmquist, Jason Pipkin, Zachary Williams
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind