UNLESS IT'S NECESSARY
by @matthew62
Liner Notes
Folk, Banjo This song was inspired by the by the beautiful, heartbreaking poem, home, by Warsan Shire, from her equally beautiful book, Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head: Poems. The very first line of the poem is: “You don’t leave home unless home is the mouth of a shark.”
Lyrics
You don’t leave your home Unless your home is the mouth of a shark You don’t leave your whole world behind Unless your world is falling apart
No one steals away in the night Taking only what they can carry No one steals away in the night Unless it’s necessary
You don’t leave your home For an over crowded boat You don’t leave your home Unless your home has a knife at your throat
No one steals away in the night Taking only what they can carry No one steals away in the night Unless it’s necessary
You don’t carry your children Toward the certainty of trouble Unless it’s better than finding them Buried underneath the rubble
No one steals away in the night Taking only what they can carry No one steals away in the night Unless it’s necessary
Comments
![[FAWM]](/static/img/ukulelecorn.svg)
The banjo sounds like a completely different instrument when it is picked slowly and intentionally like this. I love what you did with the lyric on this one. It's reminiscent of an old tool hidden track talking about things being necessary in life. That's about where the comparisons end though.
I love the vocal performance on this song. It contrasts the banjo beautifully