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My Sunflower

from Nobody Lives There by Sean Davis Newton

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about

"My Sunflowers" was written to be an experiment in repetition mimimalism; most of these chord shapes are two note chords til the bridge, where it opens up a bit (and also where it rips into Neutral Milk Hotel territory, just a little bit).
It's an ode to loss that's a fair bit more general than either of the other two tracks, and indeed more generally worded than my songs usually are. A necessary trade-off to get the really pure, simple sentences I needed in order for the repetition to have the effect of complicating the meaning of the sentence, as opposed to clarifying it.
The middle section relates these broad terms back to the human body, where, for a moment, it gets a little sexy. We end on the repetition, with Connor on the sax ("maybe we can do a Maria Schneider type thing, with these sforzando tenor stabs?") and Dana singing background vocals.

lyrics

I'm leaving the summer without you
I'm leaving the summer without you
I got the message the last time we sang our songs together

I’m leaving the summer without you
My sunflowers
I’m leaving the summer without you
Leaves starved of sunlight, frost in your veins by mid September

I’m leaving the summer without you
my sunflower (what am I leaving for you)
I’m leaving the summer without you
my sunflower (what am I leaving for you)

Isn't it time we start acting our age
And I won't be ashamed of our
Bodies our strange
Lovely bodies are strangers
To me

I'm leaving the summer without you
(what am I leaving for you) my sunflower
I'm leaving the summer without you
(what am I leaving for you) my sunflower

credits

from Nobody Lives There, released May 1, 2020
written, recorded, and performed by sean newton
connor newton on the tenor saxophone
dana clementine singing background vocals

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Sean Davis Newton Edmonton, Alberta

Hey folks; my name is Sean Davis Newton. I’m a songwriter. I live in Edmonton, and I have a brand new album coming out this year. It's about birds.

RIYL: Paul McCartney, Pavement, Fiona Apple, Wilco

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