Picture Frame
Last month, I did a blog entry about an amazing band I discovered called Coyote Grace. They're a duo who specialize in "weaving fabrics of upbeat folkgrass, front-porch blues, lovesick serenades, broody funk, and freight train folk rock into a curious tapestry conveying themes of transformation, introspection, and the impermanence of identity." All of that translates into good music.
PICTURE FRAME
by Miss Ingrid Elizabeth
I was there in the room
The day my baby died
And oh, how she cried
Wrapped up in her cloak of darkness
She saw a brighter light on the other side
She cried, "Oh Mama, I can't live this lie"
Then, she was gone with a smile
CHORUS:
Well, I buried her in a picture frame
The dust grows thick now upon her name
But I love her still the same
I was there in the room
The day my baby was born
And oh, how he cried
He birthed himself out of the darkness
A newborn manchild fell into my world
Chest filled with pride to have him by my side
Though it killed my baby girl
[CHORUS]
My heart wears a veil of mourning
A painted smile on my face
A million memories of soft skin & angel songs
Even time cannot erase
I was there in the room
The day my baby said Goodbye
And oh how I cried
He traded in my pinks for a stranger's blues
My skin ain't home to him anymore
He cried, "Oh Mama, I can't live this lie"
My heart just walked right out the door
CHORUS:
Well, I buried us in a picture frame
The dust grows thick now upon our name
But I love him still the same
And there ain't no one to blame
But I'll never be the same
One of the songs that struck me with it's beauty was "Picture Frame," a song that at that time had not yet been released. This meant that I had no way of listening to it again to capture the moving lyrics and I'd be left with just the few jumbled phrases that I was able to remember. It's a beautiful song about their story - and more specifically Miss Grace's perspective of it - that resonated with me in light of the people I've been blessed to know over the last year.
Well, the song is still unavailable on cd, but Miss Grace just posted the lyrics on her myspace page and I've been given permission to reprint them here for you to read. My hope is that the song will be on their forthcoming album later this year, but until then I hope you enjoy this beautiful poetry as much as I do.
by Miss Ingrid Elizabeth
I was there in the room
The day my baby died
And oh, how she cried
Wrapped up in her cloak of darkness
She saw a brighter light on the other side
She cried, "Oh Mama, I can't live this lie"
Then, she was gone with a smile
CHORUS:
Well, I buried her in a picture frame
The dust grows thick now upon her name
But I love her still the same
I was there in the room
The day my baby was born
And oh, how he cried
He birthed himself out of the darkness
A newborn manchild fell into my world
Chest filled with pride to have him by my side
Though it killed my baby girl
[CHORUS]
My heart wears a veil of mourning
A painted smile on my face
A million memories of soft skin & angel songs
Even time cannot erase
I was there in the room
The day my baby said Goodbye
And oh how I cried
He traded in my pinks for a stranger's blues
My skin ain't home to him anymore
He cried, "Oh Mama, I can't live this lie"
My heart just walked right out the door
CHORUS:
Well, I buried us in a picture frame
The dust grows thick now upon our name
But I love him still the same
And there ain't no one to blame
But I'll never be the same
There is no ‘must’ in art because art is free.
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The sole purpose of a child's middle name, is so he can tell when he's really in trouble.
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