It's been over a year and a half
since flags have flown above half-staff
and I can't read one more epitaph
for something I have lost
I'm tired down to the bone
of throwing blame as if stones
we hate every generation but our own
when faced with the cost
Oh, it's what the body knows
before the wound has spoken
when strength appears unbroken
the body knows
The bedrock is so full of cracks
I fall in while blind to the fact
keep finding another root to grasp
as if it will hold
My sorrow lies in the deep
where only shadows can speak
I laugh when I'm awake but in my sleep
the fire has gone cold
Oh, it's what the body knows
before the wound has spoken
when strength appears unbroken
the body knows
the body knows
the body knows
@berni1954 Mar 2022
This is pure contemporary folk - my all time favourite genre.
I am Watch listing you for next year. If you're still around this March, let me know and I'll give more of your stuff a listen, This touched me deeply.
@jeustan Feb 2022
Sometimes I struggle to describe what I find so magical about your songs. I could say great harmonies, great lyrics, great voice, ect and all would be true, however, there is evidence of thought put into the combined whole in these sounds. A whole of these combined elements that is many wonderful things. I don't know what to say, again. Just wonderful.
@sorby69 Feb 2022
Oof this hits the spot Leah - what a gorgeous, beautiful song. I will be returning to this time and time again I'm sure.
@bethdesombre Feb 2022
Oh my -- this is beautiful and aching. that first stanza sets the stage so powerfully, and the chorus (from those "oh"s) is both gorgeous and important. I love that it feels personal and universal -- we don't know precisely what the narrator is referring to (though there are some obvious candidates) and we then hang our own trauma on these bones. And what an excellent set of rhymes.
@arthurrossi Feb 2022
Very cleverly written lyrics. I like the triple rhyme-combinations you used here. The melody is beautiful, I love the harmonies and your vocal delivery is amazing!
@opossum Feb 2022
Hiya Leah! This is so very wonderful! Your voice is magical. Beautiful. Perfect! You totally send me. To another place. To beauty. To sadness. To...life.
Your guitar picking is perfect as the backdrop for this. "What the Body Knows" is such a great hook. And your lyrics are so tender yet tough. Gentle yet fierce. Strong in your message. I just love this
I usually like to joke around in my comments but this is no joking matter. This is a beautiful song. A beautiful write and a beautiful performance. I'm convinced you are a beautiful person. Hats off to you!
@majordanby Feb 2022
Another beautiful track. These are lovely well crafted lyrics with a lot of depth and insight.
Beautifully sung as always. The treatment for your throat must be working as your vocal sounds clear and crisp.
Really enjoyed listening to all of your songs this morning! What s lovely way to start the day.
@danvaillancourt Feb 2022
You break my heart in the best way as soon as you open your mouth to sing. Lovely harmonies and ohohohs. Great song and hope things only get better for you from here on out.
@thetau Feb 2022
Leah: Nice country Harmonies. Beautiful voice.
@ceilidh Feb 2022
Beautiful vocals. So much senseless loss captured here to speak for these times. May the fire within bring the warmth of spring and renewal.
@hummingbear Feb 2022
Wonderful vocals, I wish you continued healing. This song so reflects our times, it's beautifully crafted and wise.
@serene123 Feb 2022
Love this Leah. Love the way you sing that 'ooh..oh' in the chorus.. it's so catchy and tender.. I've been really enjoying this!
@ltunes Feb 2022
This is absolutely lovely. I could listen all day. Your lyrics are very special and the harmony is perfectly done. Great!
@andygetch Feb 2022
There has been a lot of loss in the last two years (empathy towards the narrator), and this captures that feeling I have had as well. Lovely vocals and harmony over the just right amount of guitar. Well done!
@ukufriday Feb 2022
You make me good cry
@quork Feb 2022
So nice to hear your voice again. I find it so soothing, even when you sing about wounds and bedrock full of cracks. Powerful lyrics. The body knows indeed. Very nice harmonies, I enjoyed this a lot.
@splittybooms Feb 2022
So very glad your voice is doing better and hope things keep improving for you back to full recovery.
I remember now that your singing is some of my favorite that I've found during FAWM, and this reminded me.
The vocals are so crazy good; beautifully delivered full of emotion while the ear rides every note.
Great lyrics, too.
Having just the quiet guitar backing lets that voice do its thing while being perfect in its own right.
Yep, this was a great listen.
@ayehahmur Feb 2022
Wow, that opening verse just hits so hard, doesn't it? And the chorus is so eloquent. These are peerless lyrics, Leah. And a wonderful performance. Your voice sounds terrific, so whatever you're doing - keep doing it!
@hbusse Feb 2022
Not just an interesting title but a great opening line, it got me hooked in right away. Gorgeous singer-songwriter delivery too!
@drewhottmann Feb 2022
Wouldn’t be February without hearing your lovely voice! So happy to see you here again.
You just keep crushing it. Always crafting such compelling melodies.
@gwyn1234 Feb 2022
Everything about this track is deeply impressive!
@jorh Feb 2022
The lines flow so beautifully in the verses, keeping a consistent rhyme until the last line. Your voice is really beautiful too, and the light picking of the guitar allowed it shine
@shortdan Feb 2022
Beautiful vocal work. Absolutely loving those close harmonies where they appear. Great melody, great performance. Excellent :)
@paulotteson Feb 2022
I absolutely love your vocal delivery here, and your careful harmonic touches. They bring your already fantastic lyrics to another level. Just beautiful. So happy you're back for another FAWM - I can't wait to hear more :)
@oswlek Feb 2022
Outstanding. You write some of the most powerful tunes on FAWM. Or anyway, for that matter. Nice guitar arrangement and your singing is divine, as always.
Each time I heard the chorus I had it play a little different in my head, skipping past the "oh" part before "when strength appears unbroken" to really solidify the rhyme there. Shoot me an email if you are interested in more detail on that.
I hope you and yours are well, Leah. Great stuff.
@fonte Feb 2022
Simply beautiful. Fantastic lyrics. Really good. I'm tired down to the bone/of throwing blame as if stones. Is particularly good I think. Harmonies are classic. More please!!
@tawny249 Feb 2022
It's what we always have to do, isn't it...pretend we're ok when we're not. You captured that so well here. "When strength appears unbroken/the body knows" was a bit of a gut punch, but it's so true. This has a very classic folk feel, and I'm here for it. Beautiful singing as always. :)
@rayboneor Feb 2022
That spare guitar is the perfect backdrop for your sublime vocals. This has a real power, quiet as it is. What the body knows--it's a great hook, one that carries a lot of meaning as well. A lot of us get so up in our heads that we ignore what the body knows. Lovely song, lovely performance
@fuzzy Feb 2022
Lovely tune you got here.
Really nice old-skool country vibes.
I'm liking the harmonies.
So good.
@kevinmason Feb 2022
Oh my, what a mournful tune for the present day. The chorus is gorgeous. You sing and write so well. Wow.
@wrenarcher Feb 2022
My God, Leah this is just absolutely stunning. I listened late last night but wanted to be more intentional and fully alert. Not sure it helped… I’m practically breathless listening to your voice and harmony deliver these powerful, moving and emotional lyrics.
The first two verses hit me so, so hard.
I was in the military and worked in recruiting and I remember hearing of a kid who died at The Battle of Fellujah who was from our recruiting district. I hated to hear that. I just hated it.
I hated that I indirectly participated in that. And I hate that many of country’s sons and daughters are used as pawns.
@adforperu Feb 2022
Ahh, I've missed those lyrics! Really poignant, and the patient pacing is such a joy. These two lines especially are jumping out at me
of throwing blame as if stones
we hate every generation but our own
Beautifully written
@guitarpatz83 Feb 2022
What a beautiful, poignant and moving track - I adore the stripped back simplicity of this, it brings the rawness to the fore and the interweaving harmonies are just gorgeous. You’re such an incredibly lyricist Leah. I find it so hard to tap into an authentic inner voice in a way that seems effortless for you. It’s a joy to get to here your compositions in real time. It’s raining here as I listen and it’s the perfect soundtrack.
@crisp1 Feb 2022
Absolutely one of the best lyrics I've read in this or any other FAWM, Leah. Like, just, wow! Such wisdom and sadness. And then your beautiful, melancholy music under the heartbreaking words. Tears in my eyes.
@moonraccoon Feb 2022
Absolutely lovely. Yes, you're bringing the sadness this year. Very much looking forward to more.
@theodamus Feb 2022
“I can't read one more epitaph
for something I have lost“ hits me so hard right now. What a powerful understated line. I feel the weariness in this, as beautiful ever (as your work is), just tired in the bones - I relate. Thanks for this, it’s beautiful
@davidtaro Feb 2022
‘We hate every generation but our own / when faced with the cost’. I can’t begin to tell you how perfectly you’ve summed up something that’s been going round my mind recently -slowly realising it’s now my generation making a series of catastrophic decisions. I can’t blame the baby boomers for everything any more! So that’s my favourite lines, but there are so many other great ones here, not least the chorus which is achingly beautiful and poignant. Oh and your vocal is sublime, but that pretty much goes without saying when it’s you singing ;)
@radiobenedetto Feb 2022
Really lovely, Leah. Your voice and harmonies sound so easy and natural. The sparse accompaniment works nicely. The harmony on the second stanza evokes a pedal steel melody for me. I’d love to hear you take the word “hold” at the end of the 4th stanza into an upward cadence that leads into a bridge for a change of pace before the final chorus. Easy for me to say right! Good to hear your beautiful voice again. Great work!
@jacobeverettwallace Feb 2022
Wow this one hits deep. Wonderfully written and performed. Such a beautiful expression of how probably most of us have felt recently. Incredible job, thank you for sharing.
@tseaver Feb 2022
Good write: taps into the deep weariness of our times. The vocal harmonies are haunting and lovely.
@unpronounceable Feb 2022
This is really touching. Lovely lyrics & melody, with harmonies weaving in at just the right times. I really appreciate the title -- so powerful. Great write/song!
@kenmattsson Feb 2022
I just found myself starting to cry listening to this, and that's a first for me at FAWM, congratulations! There's something about your presentation that is so moving. You're touching something deep here.
@wolfkier Feb 2022
This really is lovely to listen to and heartbreaking to take in. Such a great lyrical concept, what the body knows...evocative and poetic. Wonderful work. Great to hear your voice again! :)
Wishing you a happy FAWM, with many more gems for us to enjoy.
Hugs.
@katestantonsings Feb 2022
Truth and beauty came to my mind while listening to your gorgeous vocals. How you sing "oh" in the chorus is breathtaking. These lyrics are poignant. Lovely harmonies! Soooo nice to hear your music again!
@metalfoot Feb 2022
So poignant and beautiful and heart wrenching. Leah... this is amazing.
The sort of song which makes the listener (or at least me) want to give the singer a big hug.
@theawkwardsleep Feb 2022
Love those harmonies. Gorgeous. Lyrics are ace. Great work. :)