LYRICS | Hanna Enlöf

All songs composed by Hanna Enlöf

Lyrics written by Craig Stanton Thomas

Photos by Christian Andersson

I was jealous for your love

I was swimming at your feet

I was grasping after breath

I was clinging to your knees

Staying afloat in your wake

I was anxious for your heart

I was painfully aware

I was nursing my own wounds

I was lost in inner paths

Leading nowhere very soon

Falling down

Down with me

I could not

Follow you down

I was angry at your smile

I was frightened by your eyes

Though I never tried to flee

Spent that Summer by your side

In the Fall you fell like leaves

You were waiting to be healed

You had bet on better days

You had fought your demon down

Buried fears beneath the ground

Waiting for the peace of dawn

Falling down...

In the end we parted ways

In the end you lost all hope

Till the end I watched you fight

Waiting for the final rite

Lying in your bed alone

Falling down…

I still wait for something new

See your face in all I do

I still wait for morning winds

Blow the shadows from my night

Heal the wounds you left behind

Millions of people throughout human history have sat waiting beside a dying loved one, only to be left alone as their loved one passes beyond life to a future unknown. This song’s lyric has taken on new meaning after the Corona pandemic, considering how many have been robbed of this possibility to pass among loved ones. Upon finishing the production of this song it became evident that the “bare bones” idea of simple acoustic recordings was an idea that had to be given up…

Difficulties often force us into isolation, the home of the lonely, wanting and broken heart. The song, Silver Tragedies, rises from the darkness of the night’s conflicts to the hope of morning light. Isolation is broken as two souls, hand in hand, face a new dawn.

Gold, golden nights

Flailing bright

Like broken whisperings

No one knows

Where did they go?

The morning finds

Us wrapped inside a silent prayer

Remembering that which we just fled hours before

As we climbed our way from the night

In the early dawn of day

Know these dreams are meant to guide us on and on

And this heart will surely rise and breathe,

Breathing life into our love

Tears, burning tears

Falling down

Like silver tragedies

No one knows

Where did they go?

The mourning finds

Them gone and I will always be

Remembering that which we just fled hours before

As we climbed our way to the light

In the early dawn of day...

I was left inside a lonely heart

Thought you’d never, ever see me

Left inside a wanting heart

Thought you’d never, ever feed me

Left inside a broken heart

Somehow you came and slowly freed me

Left inside a dreaming heart

In the early dawn of day…

Crowding the highlands, deserting the coast
A three degree world makes real estate of a boat
The home of your father’s enclosed in blue graves
The heritage of mother’s all but lost beneath the waves

Yesterday’s treasures submerged beyond reach
The floodgates of Gaia opened and unleashed
Water’s the new ground, with houses on stilts
But dead are the deniers who share in this guilt

A three degree world
Can’t get wetter than this
A three degree world
Why even reminisce
Get used to the real world
Where water’s still life
But waves also death
And conveyors of strife

In the days of old Noah God punished the sin
Of humanity’s children in a deluge and din
But who are the sinners this time around
Will consumers and deniers be caught up and drowned

Will we fight for what’s left with no care for brother man
Survival of the fittest, our strategy and plan
But those who do not drown, may yet drown in their greed
As the judgment of gods comes to visit their misdeeds

A three degree world...

And I dreamed I saw swimmers
Far beneath the rolling surf
Were they the new children
Of people who had never tread turf

Never walked upon a meadow
Or run beneath a clear blue sky
Never seen a flower blooming
Or chased a colored butterfly

A three degree world...

We have all been bombarded with information on the impending global climate crisis. Three Degree World is a dystopian take on what could happen if our efforts to curb global warming don't succeed. We admit that we are in no way perfect at living in an environmentally sustainable way, but still feel it to be of great importance to use our music to wake awareness of this issue, as it hangs over us all, threatening the future of our lives and fortunes. We felt it was important that both Hanna and Craig sang this song together, as they represent different generations, nationalities and genders. This is a universal issue and problem that must be met by us all if we are to succeed in the future.

This song has its roots in a critique of our overly stressed and “rush hour” society. Hanna sang an early version of this song for her dear friend and fellow musician Anna Ihlis. She immediately loved the song and insisted on singing it with Hanna. By the time the song was fully recorded, Anna’s whole family had gotten involved. Her father arranged and played the strings and her husband, Are, played the bassoon on this lovely mix of Americana and classical orchestration. Unfortunately the verse citing Shakespeare’s quote about time didn’t make it to the final version. We hope he’s OK with that.

Tick, tick, tock, time flies by
Tick, tick don’t ask me why
Use it well, make it worthwhile
Is what they say
But time’s not real

Wasting, I’m wasting all my time
And time is dear
Chasing, I’m chasing after time
Year after year
Endless years

Tick, tick, tock, time doth flow
Marching forth ever slow
Constantly on it’s way from us
Waits for none,
And slips away

Wasting, I’m wasting all my time
And time is dear
Chasing, I’m chasing after time
Just why is not clear
Just not clear

Tick, tick, tock, month of June
Tick, tick, so late, so soon
Is it noon, or is it harvest moon
Well you tell me, or I’ll tell you

Wasting, I’m wasting all my time
And time is dear
Chasing, I’m chasing after time
Year after year
Wasting, I’m wasting precious time
And missed my fate
Waited, I’ve waited far too long
And now it’s late, far too late

I’m far away,
Far away from here
I am far away
Far away from you

You are the rising sun in the east
You greet sleepy eyes with your smile
Even though clouds cover your eyes
Your smile abides

And with each morning comes
Your special kind of light

You are the tidal waters that rise
You rinse out the shadows of mind
Even though floodgates hinder your way
Your seep your way through

And with each cycle of moon
The cleansing flows

We fall so hard, we cut our knees
Then we get on up, we try to ease
Then trip again and lose all sense of direction
We run so fast, we lose our breath
But we hold each other in our grasps
Then finally we find our way

into the light of morning

Into the light of morning

I am the setting sun in the west
I lose my way when in the dark
Even your beacon shining so bright
Is lost in the night

And though each night descends
Your beam resounds

We fall so hard, we cut our knees...

We are swans ever circling in pairs
We swim circles ‘round in that dance
Even as others watch and rejoice
Our sorrows, our choice

And with each season we fly
Searching again

We fall so hard, we cut our knees...

Well, we are all different, aren't we? If we can learn to rely on each other’s strengths, we can rise above our weakness and failure to reach mutual goals together. We are still going to fall and cut our knees at times but we offer this song as a celebration of all lasting relationships.

A number of years ago we participated in a songwriting event where the goal was to write 20 songs in one day. Song for Jackie was one of the first songs to be written that day. The lyric came to Craig in about 5 minutes, almost, so it seemed, out of nowhere. James Taylor has said that he doesn’t write his songs, but is merely the first person to hear them. That was definitely how it felt. It was as though the lyrics dropped directly out of the sky. The music took about 30 minutes and the song was finished. We love Jackie. We just wish we knew who she really is. We have another song about her in waiting. It is about her life many years down the line. She is like an old friend. We hope you will befriend her too.

Weep for sorrow
Cry for joy
Laugh as though there's no tomorrow
Sing it though it's just a ploy

But the song won't save you
It's not like walking on water

Sing a song for Jackie
Sing a song for yourself
Sing a song that'll raise the dead and pave our way

Grieve for losses
Look for truth
Laugh as though there's no tomorrow
Sing it though you've lost your youth

But the song won't save you
It's not like walking on water

Sing a song for Jackie...

Sing until you've lost all words
Sing until your heart explodes
Let your memories gather here
In joy, in sorrow

Sing a song for Jackie...

Burning in Paradise

Wildfires in Paradise
Lives burned completely to the ground
One last look at your possessions
Only a fool would hang around

Grab what first comes to mind
Never able to turn back the flames
Lost today is gone forever
Are the wind and heat to blame

Burning, burning in Paradise
Burning, burning so bright
Burning in Paradise
Humanity’s desperate plight

How could something so good
Be turned to such evil intent
How could our invention and friend
Be so cruelly distorted and bent

If good is perverted and changed
Does its virtue lose all that was meant
Does the evil grow in proportion
To the change to malevolence

Burning, burning in Paradise
Burning, burning so bright
Burning in Paradise
Humanity’s desperate plight

Burning, burning in Paradise
Our souls consumed in this heat
Burning in Paradise
Humanity’s lost in defeat

How could good go to such waste
How could friend be turned to such a foe
How could beauty be made such an enemy
How could love be dealt such a blow

Rebellion in Paradise
And an angel thrown down to the ground
Beauty turned its back on truth
And sin and evil abound

Burning, burning in Paradise

The devastating wildfires in Paradise, California in the summer of 2018 were the inspiration for this song. The human and material tragedy created by these fires focuses our attention on our possessions and values. Fire has the double roll of being one of our best friends when it warms us and one of our greatest foes when it is out of control. Craig couldn’t resist the parallel to the rebellion in Paradise in the Judeo-Christian story that informs our cultural heritage.

We have watched with growing horror and frustration the march of neo-nazis in our streets and towns here in Sweden. They are still a small and marginalized group but become more emboldened as time passes. What should be our response to this rebirth and expression of hate, prejudice and violence? This song examines the two responses, non-violence and armed struggle and reflects that without the sacrifices made during World War II much would have been lost for generations. Musically, Booted Paces differs from all the other songs on this album, as Hanna accompanies herself on the piano.

We thought this was all in our past

Never to tread down a modern day street

That mankind was immune to this siren

To the call of this terminal beast

Once defeated at so great a cost

Millions of dead can witness our grief

We ought to be eternally immune

Instead of watching you in disbelief

White shirts, black ties, angry faces

A uniform of hate that appalls

They’re marching streets with booted paces

Deniers of history reprimanding us all

Who are these deluded poor souls

Who loathe all we cherish and respect

Where are all the mothers and fathers

To be charged with such child neglect

What sickness can lead to such hate

What calamities forge their dark brows

Whose fault is their seeming delusion

Whose charge, to them truth to endow

Well, Easter has one of the answers

Meeting hate with a love so profound

But without all the millions who offered

Much innocence would be buried in the ground

So give me the answer I search for

Whether to fight or to lay down my life

Is violence or non-violence the answer

Is the solution love or strife

I will meet you with love in the market

I will meet all your hate with respect

I will strive, to see in you the person

Not the conflict and hate you represent

Let my love break down your resistance

Let my caring break down your resolve

Let my example lead you to understanding

May my offer your sins absolve

But arms you may force me to bear

And violence become my routine

May God hold me guiltless for trying

To stop your hatred so obscene

Yet I stand

Beyond your door

Yet I stand here

On the threshing floor

Yet I wait

To be sifted like chaff

Yet I hate

To admit there’s nothing more

There’s nothing more

To be loved

Without demands

To be held here

In your caring hands

To be more

Than the one you left behind

To discover that we are

More than desperately entwined

Woke in the middle of the night

Sleep had fled to a foreign shore

Left me alone to ponder

Left alone I reached for the light

Got up and paced the bedroom floor

Pacing round, to and fro

As this night grieved as so many more

Now I rise

To greet the dawn

Now I’m rising

As though I’m drawn

Refuse to stand outside your door

To be sifted like chaff

Rather wait

Till I reach that distant shore

That distant shore

Songs have a way of portraying the multitude of relationships that play out in this broken and wonderful world of ours. There is certainly an overabundance of songs where someone or both parts gets hurt. Sifted Like Chaff ends on a positive note and a refusal to be mistreated and left behind. Are Lauritzen contributes an amazing sounding solo played on a duduk. Some instrument can truly express sorrow and weeping.

When love goes wrong there are often three people involved and our loves are often complicated and unfathomable. Amidst the pain and heartbreak we long for a refuge of peace. Two Loves is true to the album’s title, BareBones. When we set out to record these songs our ambition was to record them simply, as Two Loves was recorded. We got carried away as we got farther into the recording process. Production was simply too much fun! With the exception of one resounding piano chord, this song is simply Hanna’s voice and guitar.

Two loves

Two colors of joy

Two shades of sorrow

One for each shade of love

Three lives

Entwined together

Three shades of grief

One for each shade of love

And one for each shade of life

Would there be a refuge

A way back to simpler times

A path whose steps can heal

A garden so full of peace

A bed that gives more than rest

And quenches more than thirst

Four days

And I’ve pondered leaving

Pack what’s worth taking

And leave a note on the table

For all

I’d let you get on

The healing cure begins

With a note on the table

Leave a note on the table

Would there be a refuge...

One heart

Is all I command

One call I heed

Only one word would do

One pain

Covers it all

What would be gained?

Only one word would do

I have seen the voice of angels

I have seen the sounds of grace

I have heard an incense burning

Though they never left a trace

I’ve touched a newborn baby

I’ve caressed a love so dear

But the pale farewell to the one I love

Is a tale I will not hear

I have slept through wars a-raging

I have known a song yet unsung

I have read a book never written

Seen hands so grievously wrung

I’ve touched a newborn baby...

I have heard the tale of salvation

I have drunk the wine of gods

I have toasted kings and royalty

I have waged against all odds

Bent and broken

From the very start

Shine so weakly

Oh, my weary heart

And open your floodgates

Reveal your noble arts

I’ve touched a newborn baby...

I have walked the paths of Eden

I’ve traversed a circle of fear

But the pale farewell to the one I love

Is a tale I will not hear

Pale Farewell began as a musical idea to a guitar loop Hanna was experimenting with on classical guitar. The lyric utilizes mixed metaphors that Craig has a love for. The lyrics and music have always felt like folk music and we hope the song gives you the feeling it could have been written several centuries ago.

Hymn for the Night is quite simply what the name implies: it is a hymn and a prayer. It is a universal human experience to feel fear and worry in the night, along with hope in a power greater than ourselves that we can lean on and trust in our darkest hour.

In the waters deep

Cleanse and cover me

In this raging flood

Anchor me

And let me stay

For a while

‘Til morning light

Makes its way

In the tempest wild

Be my rock and shield

In the darkest night

Shine on me

And let me stay

For a while

‘Til all is clear

And revealed

You painted an image of my soul

In black and grey and crimson

The contours are fading into blue

The beating colored ever true

You sketched a tracing of my moods

In yellow, green and orchid

The colors are fading into night

Their hues but lost beyond all sight

You sang a song of great desire

Of azure, jade and silver

Your longing lifted far too soon

Refrain in violet and maroon

You dreamed a vision of our paths

In circles gold and diamond

Wandering midst our loved ones so alight

Their upturned faces smiling bright

You sang a song of great desire...

Though all these colors coalesce to one

As white as winter mountains

You’ve always brought the good to light

Kept all my colors in sight

You sang a song of great desire...

Empty, without your caring hands

Life in shades of grey and black

Had I only seen afar

Given what you’d longed for

Both lyrics and music to this song began as a challenge; lyrically, an attempt to use as many colors as possible and musically to mirror the different colors and moods. Songs have a way of wandering around for the first few stanzas and suddenly revealing themselves for who they are and what they mean by the time they are half finished. So it was with Azure Jade and Silver. This story of love and loss is our conclusion to the album, BareBones, Hanna EnlOf’s musical creation and Craig Stanton Thomas’ lyrics. Thank you for listening!