one eye is the sun, one eye is the moon

by Vaca Sagrada

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Before Vaca Sagrada there was The Streams. Recorded and released in 1991 on Number One Records. Side A: The Drift Side B: Failed Speech. Recorded at Studio Red, Philadelphia.

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The Streams follow up record. Side A: Virginia Hellhole Side B: Rust Red Shore Recorded at Studio Red, Philadelphia 1992.

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The Streams "today, I died" is 14 songs lyrically centered around the bloodbath of the American Civil war. This band smoked a li'l too much Ken Burns back in the day, released two vinyl 45 records and called it quits. In 2011 engineer Ron Sutfin baked the original mixed master tape reels and resurrected the band's album who's title; today, I died was the final entry in a soldier's dairy as told in Burns' The Civil War documentary. The album released 20 years after the fact is not necessarily for history buffs, The Streams' intent was to play hard rocking and heart breaking songs with the drama and panoramic sensorial impression of the great undoing that was the Civil War. The Streams: Dave Brooks, Jeff Wiederschall, Spike Priggen, Bill Beckett. Recorded at Studio Red, Philadelphia by Adam Lasus.

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1.	god cried: arson! 04:13	lyrics	buy track
Verse I. When God made the world he used a compass and a square, A compass and a square and he made earth, fire and air then he made water (and then made man) Mankind disappointed God tipped his giant cup and poured all the water down and he drowned them Verse II. The he tried his hand again and put man back on the earth And come together in tongue, heart and mind Man built a tower to the sky to get even higher God twisted every tongue and the tower fell to ruin And man was scattered across the land Nothing was the same man needed something to blame and the re-invented murder Chorus: After he placed Adam in the garden He gave him woman and a hard-on Seduced by the serpent but God wouldn’t pardon Adam and Eve they chose the wrong tree and God cried: Arson! Verse III. Then he build a perfect mountain out of limestone rock Built in the garden of the Pharaoh He put a stone lioness to guard it The face fell off Egypt re-carved it to look like a man God buried the thing up to its neck in sand and left it for mankind just to confound them Verse IV. Then he put a lion in the sky to keep the sphinx company Hung it off the edge of his cosmic belt But the wicked heart of man would not beget another eye So he spun his belt round in frustration and made constellations He tied everybody’s lives to the sky in figures and vague illustrations CH: After he placed Adam in the garden He gave him a woman and a hard on Seduced by the serpent but God wouldn’t pardon Adam and Eve chose the wrong tree and God cried: Arson! Repeat: God cried: Arson Addendum: When God made the world he used a compass and a square A compass and a square and he made earth, fire and air and then he made water…and then he made man
2.	the great divider 03:14	lyrics	buy track
Born in the time of the great divider he drew up a plan to make your crossing wider all the poor get washed away start over with a clean slate bring forth a boat and fill it with slaves the time for work has come today The piles of gold uphold the money lenders nobody gets in without temple tenders All the lovers are scared away the scholars diminished if they don’t pay bring forth your dead who’ll be buried today in a hole dug for the multitudes He stands with their book in hand wields it like a shield he’s a numbers man swings sticks all day and writes devious plans the bidding of the chosen few when the flood comes you’ll need a great divider you’ll thank him then when the river grows higher And walk to safety in a promised land follow the divider who with a shake of his staff holds the waters at bay and drives forward his prey in the way of the resolute When the flood comes you’ll need a great divider wash disbelievers away and drives forward his prey in a boat filled with the chosen few Born in the time of a great divider there’s always another to make your crossing wider
3.	starlight 05:26	lyrics	buy track
Were you born in sunlight, on a Sunday afternoon? Were you born in moonlight, on a Monday in June? Sunlight Moonlight Starlight Everything is starlight Are you Scorpio rising, waiting on the dawn? Are you Capricorn hiding, biding your time? Sunlight Moonlight Starlight In one eye is the sun In one eye is the moon Sunlight Moonlight Starlight Everyman, every woman is a star -A. Crowley
4.	border song 03:42	lyrics	buy track
Ride the sun up Ride it back down Ride the sun up Ride it back down Forked tongues of vipers Licks of lightning out on the plain The rain ain’t hit us yet But its coming all the same Crossed the river shy of sundown Quickly threw together a small fire Raindrops sizzle on embers And there’s nothing in the pack to eat- so I ride Dawn breaks over the land With sheets of cold rain coming down Ride out over the country ‘til the sun bursts through the clouds a mule train camp at night Draws me into their fire They hand me beans and tortillas I sleep and before dawn I rise I stand staring watching the plain melt up to the sky It stands to reason that the world laughs to trick the eye I don’t anymore know why I ride I don’t anymore know why I rise
5.	particles of light 06:25	lyrics	buy track
The oceans roar the mountains speak In whispered breezes The trees scream the deserts weep Tears of difference And what’s more: Little things break down the big Like enzymes and bacteria Read the rocks see the breeze While bent on your knees Feel the sun it burns the leaves Smoke in the vapor The grey remnants of the sun And what’s more: Mountains crumble down into small grains of sand And we turn them into glass- glass mountains Pay with the moon with your hands Moonlight pours through just like grains of sand Crack a branch throw it onto the fire Sparks rise up into the milky sky And what’s more: Particles of starlight finally arrive And enter your eyes Hold onto them for just a little while Lights dance on the beach in the moonlight Particles of light arrive and enter your eyes Here for you Hold onto them for just a little while
6.	the glad day 05:01	lyrics	buy track
The Glad Day Green mind, mine lines: Shovel all eleven of my grave sites Bean times, mean times: We can dig a fortune in their coal mines Slow tide, ripped eyes: Feathering the roaring of a bond fire Keep time, lost mine: Read it in the pages of the Hell Times Chorus: What I sing is so sad But I sing ‘til I’m glad It's a glad day! Real life, deaf tide: Weakening grip on the after mire Tea time, torn pipes: The trodden down failures of a midlife Chorus: What I sing is so sad But I sing ‘til I’m glad Yeah, its a glad day! Green mind, fuzzy lines: Grave markers ragged on the horizon Feel fine, no time: Ominous and seemingly supine Yeah, its a glad day!
7.	no body 03:44	lyrics	buy track
no body lives for ever no lover lasts a life time nothing built won’t be rubble someday nothing destroyed can’t be reborn in a way no thing for ever, again most people are already dead aimless people are easily lead babies are born ever again the sick, sad and glad pass on instead to no thing for ever, again a life too short or too long a life cut off before it starts the old are not rare any more what’s too young to pre-pair for no thing for ever, again but love
8.	the point of it 05:20	lyrics	buy track
Moses, too was a troubled man there’s nobody perfect in this room Look at your own pile of dirt and get yourself a new corn broom Chorus: If you think things were different then I’ll tell you things are all the same It’s all just his game That’s just the point of it…. Noah, too was a drunken sailor grew a vine and made an ocean of wine Shoveling animal shit on a boat adrift at sea you might be too… a drunken sailer Chorus: If you think things were different then I’ll tell you things are all the same It’s all just his game That’s just the point of it…. Even Jesus Christ- the king of the blues: A perfect disguise hidden in plain sight: But nothing shrewd in his eyes makes you realize… See that man out on a limb: they put a dagger in him Inside Solomon’s mind, the greatest builder- the best you’ll ever find But he kept it all inside they tried to crack him - they threw a hammer at him Noah grew a vine how could he know it’d turn to wine? Ah wine leads to love and self-love -they threw a rag on him (It was a coverup) Chorus: If you think things were different then I’ll tell you things are just the same It’s just his game maybe its the point of it
9.	ghost of the susquehanna 04:43	lyrics	buy track
Harrisburg, the water rolls down Under that bridge to the power station towers Lights on the river at dawn Reflecting lights in Lemoyne homes The ghost sleeps out on a lawn After thumbing rides in passing cars Chorus: Harrisburg, I took a new turn Leave it all to burn, leave it for that river to churn Don’t you wish your troubles flowed like that water? Under the widest stone span bridge My Camp Hill girl in a trailer park world New Cumberland roads, so wide and untold Atom powered lights and radios Punk rock and comic books Melt down in Middletown pool I drew myself right out of high school Chorus: Harrisburg, I gave you my word That I wouldn’t return I took a Greyhound to New York The ghost of the river wakes before dawn rolls up his bag and emerges from the underpass heads up to the turnpike gates heads out in first light past green lakes Flat green hills of Lancaster county over Pennsylvania coal and steel to the Jagged city beyond the ghost of the river rides on an on… Harrisburg, in the simplest terms At the turnpike put out your thumb Get out of the ‘burbs Harrisburg I gave you my word That I wouldn’t return I took a Greyhound to New York Don't you wish your troubles flowed like that water? Under the widest stone span bridge
10.	drawn into a black hole 06:27	lyrics	buy track
First you laugh, then you cry When you’re down, when you get high The time is all too brief The time is all too brief Every little move I make Every thought I’ve ever think’d… came out of a black hole Take a journey into an Iris Ride a rocket through Osiris Traveling in and traveling out Outside’s in and inside’s out Stare up at the glimmering veil All the stars eventually fail And burn out in a fiery trail Time enough to tell their tale Before their drawn into a black hole Climb the spiral staircase with you Your music plays while we ascend At the top we embrace and say goodbye You continue on while I pretend this is all a dream Every little move I make Every thought I’ve ever think’d… Stare up at the glimmering veil All the stars eventually fail And burn out in a fiery trail Long enough to tell this tale Before its drawn into a black hole

about

From: Two Story Melody:

VACA SAGRADA ON “BORDER SONG,” CORMAC MACCARTHY, AND THEIR CINEMATIC SOUND
by Dakota Atkinson December 27, 2021

The Western genre runs deep in American musical culture. Countless artists in various g genres have been influenced by classic Western iconography. Vaca Sagrada draws on these traditions to create the evocative images of “border song”. The partnership of David Brooks and Jeff Wiederschall come together to write songs for a Western tragedy. Inspired by the writings of Cormac McCarthy (Blood Meridian, No Country for Old Men, etc.), “Border Song” serves to paint an image of the lonely Western wanderer.

The song begins with a lonely acoustic guitar, with the rest of the sparse instrumentation rolling in with Brooks’ vocals. Each line introduces another sound to shore up their soundscape until a percussive roll from Wiederschall brings us to the first smooth verse. There’s something lonely about “Border Song”, not just in the lyrics but in how the instrumentation of the song will find its own spaces to shine. Each guitar will step up to where the last draws out, there’s less layering than one would expect and every sound feels plucked from the memories of a wandering desperado. Wiederschall’s percussion breaks up the smooth flow from each verse, helping to add a texture under the sunny and dry leads. Everything comes together to feel extremely authentic and evocative of the existential Westerns that the duo seek to emulate.

Lyrically, “Border Song” is a strange beast. Brook is clear without being radiant. The sound feels like it is ‘riding’ on the guitar. Alongside this are lyrics telling the story of someone wandering the sandy wastes. The first two verses make great use of evocative imagery- describing the weather and the dire circumstances of our speaker. “Raindrops sizzle on embers / And there’s nothing in the pack to eat–so I ride.” From here, the sense of motion is reinforced with the percussive accents from Wiederschall. Again they rise, and they find a camp. Another day, and against another painted sky, the speaker rides on. All the instruments cut out, and only the lyrics of Brooks usher in a final verse. The speaker wanders on, not knowing anything else. “I don’t anymore know why I ride / I don’t anymore know why I rise”.

Brooks and Wiederschall know their genre, and lean heavily on the musical and thematic trappings of that gothic western to sell their sound. There is something deeply personal and grim to “Border Song”, and this feeling brings the listener along on the journeys of Vaca Sagrada, the sacred cow’s head.

I interviewed David Brooks about “border song,” and this is what he had to say.

Vaca Sagrada is a very evocative name for a group; where did it come from?

About twenty years ago I was hiking in a pasture in Uruguay and spotted a horned bovine skull and carcass. I brought the skull home to Connecticut in my suitcase and it hung above my fireplace, Georgia O’Keeffe-style, for many years. After photographing and retouching it I suddenly saw a surrealistic internal landscape- almost a Dali-like plain of consciousness and the name Vaca Sagrada emerged from that. The image has a restless nature and leads the viewer in opposite directions simultaneously, an approach I often take to song lyrics.

You’ve listed Cormac McCarthy as an inspiration for “Border Song”, what would you say inspired you from his works?

That primal desolate landscape and the road-ethic of the traveler; the kindness of strangers feeding fellow travelers coupled with the dangers of the road; the pathos of the rider following through with a plan whose purpose he’s long forgotten; out of time in a beautiful but existential restlessness; watching an approaching storm over a vast landscape. That state of being between two worlds is what I connected to in reading McCarthy.

Where would you set your songs? Are they tied to a place in the world?

Most of my songs involve a setting and I picture places when writing lyrics and singing. On this record it’s a bonfire in coastal Cape Cod at night, it’s the plain of primitive mankind building the Tower of Babel, it’s Noah and his burden of animal waste management on his ark and in the case of “Border Song,” it’s the raw country separating Mexico and the states. I guess I rely on places more than I realized in constructing songs.

How much do you bring from your own personal projects into Vaca Sagrada?

The album is the manifestation of my thoughts, readings and obsessions of late. I tend to write topical songs as opposed to self-referential iconography. Jeff has known me for so long and knows how our playing serves a certain story telling approach. We look at the music as intended to illustrate the story although it’s sometimes the words serving to embellish the mood of a song.

The music you two create has been called “cinematic” in the past. Could you see your music on the silver screen?

When we were tracking “Border Song,” our engineer described the mood of the song as: “driving down a desert highway on a sunny Sunday afternoon with a body in the trunk.” I love that he arrived at that slightly disturbing but exuberant vision from hearing the mood of the music. Although that story of that song doesn’t involve a dusty Corvette driven by some derelict, charming killer, if that’s what it brought up for Tracy then I consider the song a success.

New Haven Independent
Local Duo Vaca Sagrada Brings Desert Heat In December On New Album by BRIAN SLATTERY

“God Cried: Arson!” — the opening track from One Eye Is The Sun, One Eye Is The Moon, by Vaca Sagrada — starts with a splash of horns, guitar, bass and drums setting up an easy, bluesy swing. It all feels breezy, almost happy-go-lucky. it doesn’t prepare the listener for what the singer sings: “When God made the world he used a compass and a square / A compass and a square and he made the earth, fire and air / then he made water / Mankind disappointed God tipped his giant cup / spilled all the water down / and he drowned them.” The horns respond to those unspooling lines with a few descending riffs, almost as if they’re chuckling, shrugging their shoulders. Oh, well!

The New Haven-based music project Vaca Sagrada is born of a musical collaboration between David Brooks and Jeff Widerschall, who played together in The Streams in the 1990s. Widerschall is also the original drummer for Miracle Legion. Brooks is a chef and baker by trade and teaches at Gateway Community College. He’s also the father of Tate Brooks, of The Problem With Kids Today. To help explore their vision, Brooks and Widerschall enlist the full horn section of David “Doc” Watson on tenor and baritone sax, Daryl Dixon on alto sax, Freddie Hendrix on trumpet, and Dan Levine on trombone; Julia Autumn Ford on vocals; and Tracy Walton on upright bass and vocals, who also recorded and co-produced the album with Brooks and Widerschall. As the band’s bio reads, “this latest collaboration debuts ambitious songs weaving cinematic tales engulfed with characters from Old Testament figures, Cormac McCarthy’s existential west, Rumi, Crowley and William Blake.”

What the bio doesn’t touch on is the sense of sly sarcasm, if not outright humor embedded in the music and lyrics. “God Cried: Arson!,” for example, not only features those horns, but has the wherewithal to rhyme “hard-on” with “pardon” in describing the original sin that expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. The next track, “The Great Divider,” uses a shifting harmonic structure to deliver an unsettling, Old Testament message. “Born in the time of a great divider / he drew up a plan to make the river wider / all the poor get washed away / return the land to a clean slate / bring forth a boat and fill it with slaves / the time for work has come today,” Brooks sings. Lest we think that fire and brimstone are all in the past, at the end of the song he tags the final chorus with a sardonic twist: “there’s always another to make your crossing wider.”

“Starlight,” meanwhile, may be inspired by famous occultist Aleister Crowley, but Brooks and Widerschall choose to convey the message of the lyrics in a musical medium somewhere between country and jazz, fueled by Watson’s sax until a dirty guitar solo takes the song out. “Border Song” features stabbing acoustic guitar and spacious percussion that suddenly turn propulsive to tell a southwestern story of survival inspired by Cormac McCarthy. “Particles of Light” is the spaciest song yet, as Brooks switches to a spoken-word vocal style for the verses while the music creates a lushly airy vibe around him.

And that’s just the first half of the album. To find out what’s in store in the second half, check it out when Vaca Sagrada releases the full album this Friday, Dec. 3. Until then, the sun-baked, winking noir Vaca Sagrada has cooked up is more than enough to make us feel some dusty Gothic desert, even as winter sets in.

Vaca Sagrada’s One Eye Is The Sun, One Eye Is The Moon is available on Bandcamp.

credits

released December 3, 2021

dave brooks: songs, guitars, piano, and wurlitzer
jeff wiederschall: drums, percussion, bass, backing vocal

produced by: jeff, dave, and tracy
recorded and mixed by tracy walton, on deck sound studio, northfield, ct 2021
mastered by adam lasus, studio red, north hollywood, ca

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about

Vaca Sagrada New Haven, Connecticut

Streams frontman David Brooks and original Miracle Legion drummer Jeff Wiederschall share a musical passion and partnership spanning 30 years. This latest collaboration debuts ambitious songs weaving cinematic tales engulfed with characters from Old Testament figures, Cormac McCarthy's existential west, Rumi, Crowley and William Blake. Put your ear to the sacred cow’s head that is Vaca Sagrada. ... more

vacasagrada.hearnow.com

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