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Drink This Water Down

from Birdsong by The Quiet-Loud Machine

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about

I've been trying to pick up the ukulele. Last year, I brought it with me while camping in the Green Mountains in Vermont. The kids and I secured a beautiful tent site in a state campground adjacent to a sparkling lake. They helped me make a fire after dinner and then we took turns making up silly lyrics to random chords. Eventually, a loon started singing to us and we quieted down. We spent some time just listening to all of the interesting night noises: attempting to pick each out. Then the lyrics to this song came to me. I remembered hearing the whippoorwill and the barred owl, out my window, as a child, before the insect population took a hit. I felt at home in the woods listening to the loud thrum of crickets and frogs that evening with my kids.

When I sent my recording to Tea So Cold, he heard a beat in the background and monkeyed with the tempo until it felt right. Then he added the percussion. Drink this Water Down remains one of my favorite songs to play and sing with others when we are camping.

lyrics

Drink the water down.
The day is winding down.
The sun is…the sun is setting now.
The fire’s burning out.
We whisper more than shout
So drink this water…
Drink this water down.

Who’s gonna tell you, how to live your life?
It’s no one’s but your own.
Yes, who’s gonna tell you, how to LOVE your life?
Nobody but you: that’s who. That’s who.

Repeat Verse 1.

Who ya calling?
Who ya, who ya calling?
Another bird that’s who.
Bird’s of a feather:
stick ta, stick together:
You’re calling up a loon!
A barred owl, a mockingbird.
A whippoorwill, a night singer.
Who ya calling? Who ya, who ya calling?
Another bird that’s who.

So drink this water down.
The day is winding down.
The sun is…the sun is setting now.
The fire’s burning out.
We whisper more than shout
So drink this water…
Drink this water down.

credits

from Birdsong, released October 1, 2023
Uke, vocals, lyrics, bird recordings - Leah
Percussion, final mix, production - Tea So Cold

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The Quiet-Loud Machine Easthampton, Massachusetts

Bridging the rural-urban divide, the Quiet-Loud Machine blends sounds of the city with sounds of the countryside.

Like her collaborator, the beat-smith, Tea So Cold, Leah Nichole loves working on concept albums and experimenting with a variety of styles and genres. So far these include alt-country, indie-folk-pop, the sounds of nature, and classical piano. ... more

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