The project originally came together with songs being written in 2005. It was not recorded until the fall of 2008 in Fall Creek, Wisconsin, USA.
Since then, Jon Mueller (Death Blues) and Thomas Wincek (of All Tiny Creatures) have left Collections of Colonies of Bees, but continue to be members of Volcano Choir. They have also added Matthew Skemp on bass, who also plays in All Tiny Creatures.
Mbira in the Morass
Volcano Choir Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So alone
Beneath the willow
And the martyrs
Wild dogs around me howl
And the moon burns my arms
(Background 'oohs')
Ahh
Ahh
Fall at the lake, you're all alone
Fall at the lake, oh, all alone
Fall at the pond, you're all alone
Falling
Following
(Background 'oohs')
Moon and stars
Will fall inward, in love, alone
Said I found it all alone
We were all your end
The song "Mbira In the Morass" by Volcano Choir is a song that captures the essence of loneliness and isolation. The opening lines of the song, "Boy, so alone, beneath the willow and the martyrs" sets the tone for the rest of the track. The singer feels isolated and deserted, with only the company of wild dogs and the moon for comfort. The haunting background "oohs" add a layer of eerie feel to the overall mood of the song.
The singer's desolation is further reinforced when he falls alone, repeatedly, and is followed by silence or the "oohs" in the background. This repetition is an allusion to a cycle of loneliness and isolation that is difficult to break free from. Then, the lyrics shift from the mundane surrounding to the grandiose nature of the universe- the moon, the stars- implying that loneliness is not limited to human beings, but it is a universal human emotion that can be felt in any environment. The final line, "We were all your end" can be interpreted in different ways. On the one hand, it can mean that the singer finds solace in the thought that he is not alone in his misery. At the same time, it can also be interpreted as the inevitability of death that is the end of all human misery.
Line by Line Meaning
Boy
This song is told from the perspective of a boy
So alone
This boy feels extremely isolated
Beneath the willow
He is sitting under a willow tree
And the martyrs
He is in a place where there are probably graves or memorials to martyrs
Wild dogs around me howl
The wild dogs howling around him contribute to his sense of loneliness and unease
And the moon burns my arms
The moonlight is so bright that it feels like it's burning his skin
Cold
As well as feeling isolated, the boy is also physically cold
Fall at the lake, you're all alone
The boy is contemplating falling into the lake, where he will be completely by himself
Fall at the lake, oh, all alone
Repeating the line emphasizes the idea of loneliness
Fall at the pond, you're all alone
The boy considers falling into the pond instead
Falling
He seems to be considering suicide
Following
As if he's following some kind of morbid instinct or compulsion
Moon and stars
The boy is looking up to the sky
Will fall inward, in love, alone
He feels like the stars and moon are collapsing inward, as though they're abandoning him in his loneliness
Said I found it all alone
Perhaps he feels like he's the only one who's ever really known what it's like to be alone
We were all your end
It's unclear who 'we' refers to here, but it seems like the boy feels like everyone else was always going to be the end of him
Writer(s): Daniel Spack, James Schoenecker, Justin Vernon, Thomas Wincek, Jonathan Mueller, Christopher Rosenau
Contributed by Juliana M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.