Maggie Björklund is a Swedish pedal-steel guitarist and songwriter; Rachel Flotard, a singer-songwriter who has worked with Neko Case and fronts a Seattle-based “power pop/punk rock band” (per Wikipedia) called Visqueen. Together with a handful of accompanists (Johnny Sangster, John Convertino, Barb Hunter, Barrett Martin, and Rusty Willoughby), they put a haunting spin on Björklund’s “The Anchor Song” (lyrics below). If I were a sailor at sea, this would make me long for home; if I were a sailor on shore leave, it would make me long to put out to sea again.
Lyrics:
The Anchor Song
(Maggie Björklund)shook out the blankets with dust in their eyes
and you’re ancient
wood is eaten through
but uptown they are saying that their
ships are on timeanchors away
we’re chained to the bottom
put away and forgotten
how this feelsbusy living most of our lives
on the lexington line
shuffled on subways
our 4 alarm fires are frozen in iceanchors away boys
we are chained to the bottom
we’ve put away and forgotten
how this feelssomekind of lonesome
that they’ve
translated outwards for us
sleep in your ocean
chest towards the sun
you’ll find loveit’s easier to long for the days
when they left off to thank you
crush and outrank you
with hollows in their eyeschasing the low birds
who sow up the skyline for us
sleep on your ocean
chest towards the sun
you’ll find love
love
“The Anchor Song,” from her 2009 debut album Coming Home, is today’s selection for NPR’s Song of the Day series.
