A three-part harmony-driven band, the trio has toured California multiple times playing festivals such as Make Music Pasadena, Echo Park Rising, Claremont Folk Festival, Lightning in a Bottle, and successfully captured large audiences every Monday night in December with their Holiday Residency at The Satellite.
In 2014 the band released their formal debut album, Blind and Brave, produced by Raymond Richards at Red Rockets Glare (Parson Redheads, Honey Honey, Local Natives, Dustbowl Revival). The album release kicked off during a very special show at the historic Troubadour.
Blind and Brave illustrates the story of the working class, and encourages listeners to genuinely care about the place they inhabit, keep it beautiful, connect with people, and be brave. The message found in these songs is that you have to get through the hard stuff to get to the good stuff, just as you have to go through the bad parts of town to find the best parts, whether it be a venue down an old dark alley way, or a friend’s house at the top of a hill. In everything you do, do it out of love.
With their debut album released, and a bright future ahead, we can only expect great things from The Wild Reeds. They joined Newport Folk Festival’s sister of the west, Way Over Yonder with artists such as Jackson Brown, Local Natives, Lucinda Williams.
Winter Moon
The Wild Reeds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I saw you underneath the gloom
The wind swept you backwards
While the world was pulling you
Onward the sea pressed
The ship was tossed and swirled
I could see through the fog and clouds
And we cried, and we cried, and we cried
That we'd be saved
And we cried, and we cried, and we cried
That we'd be spared
Turned around and sailed onward
Different ways than those before
You were consumed in your own words
You were lost and torn in two
Cold and chilled, I sat and wept
My stomach dropped with deep regret
Then the waves pulled us under
So we tried to kick and swim
And we cried, and we cried, and we cried
That we'd be saved
And we cried, and we cried, and we cried
That we'd be spared
Death will not take us
Death will not take us
Death will not take us
Death will not take us
Death will not take us
Oh, death will not take us
Death will not take us
Death will not take us
Death will not take us
Death will not take us
Death will not take us
The song Winter Moon by The Wild Reeds is a melancholic yet hopeful song that depicts the struggles of two individuals who are lost at sea. The lyrics are metaphorical, as they represent the emotional turmoil the characters are going through. The winter moon symbolizes a difficult time in their lives, and the sea represents their inner turmoil.
The first verse describes the singer witnessing someone they care about struggling in the tumultuous sea while the winter moon shines upon it. The person is being pulled in different directions, represented by the wind pushing them back while the world is advancing. In the second verse, the singer sees a light over the hills through the fog and clouds, bringing a glimmer of hope that saves them from their dire situation. The third verse is the most emotional, as the singer laments the loss of their loved one, lost and torn in two. The repeated refrain of "Death will not take us" at the end of the song shows the struggle to survive and the will to live even in the most difficult situations.
Line by Line Meaning
The winter moon shone down upon the sea
The moon of the winter cast its light over the sea
I saw you underneath the gloom
Under the dark and hazy atmosphere, I found you
The wind swept you backwards
The blowing wind pushed you in the opposite direction
While the world was pulling you
When the world was tugging and dragging you towards it
Onward the sea pressed
The sea continued to move forward relentlessly
The ship was tossed and swirled
The ship was swirling and thrown in different directions
I could see through the fog and clouds
Despite the hazy and unclear surroundings, I could see
A light bright over the hills
There was an intense light shining over the hills
And we cried, and we cried, and we cried
That we'd be saved
And we cried, and we cried, and we cried
That we'd be spared
We wept and wished fervently that we would be rescued and spared
Turned around and sailed onward
We changed direction and continued to sail forward
Different ways than those before
We chose a different path than the previous one
You were consumed in your own words
You became overwhelmed by your thoughts and words
You were lost and torn in two
You were both confused and divided in your emotions
Cold and chilled, I sat and wept
My stomach dropped with deep regret
I was filled with sorrow and regret, feeling cold and helpless
Then the waves pulled us under
So we tried to kick and swim
The waves dragged us down, and we struggled to keep afloat
And we cried, and we cried, and we cried
That we'd be saved
And we cried, and we cried, and we cried
That we'd be spared
We wept and prayed that we would be saved and spared from death
Death will not take us
Death will not take us
Death will not take us
Death will not take us
Death will not take us
Oh, death will not take us
Death will not take us
Death will not take us
We refuse to let death take us, and we hope to overcome it
Contributed by Declan E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.