The_Ghost_of_a_Prayer
Folk rock with Americana influences. Acoustic guitar provides a steady eighth-note strumming pattern. Electric bass plays melodic lines with a warm, rounded tone. Drums feature a prominent kick on beats 1 and 3 with a crisp snare on 2 and 4. A clean-toned electric guitar adds melodic fills and arpeggios. Male lead vocals are clear and centered, supported by tight three-part vocal harmonies during the choruses. A subtle organ pad fills the mid-range. The tempo is 105 BPM in the key of G major.
The_Ghost_of_a_Prayer
Folk rock with Americana influences. Acoustic guitar provides a steady eighth-note strumming pattern. Electric bass plays melodic lines with a warm, rounded tone. Drums feature a prominent kick on beats 1 and 3 with a crisp snare on 2 and 4. A clean-toned electric guitar adds melodic fills and arpeggios. Male lead vocals are clear and centered, supported by tight three-part vocal harmonies during the choruses. A subtle organ pad fills the mid-range. The tempo is 105 BPM in the key of G major.
Lyrics
[acoustic guitar strumming, bass enters]
[Verse 1]
Born to the purple in an iron gray town
She traded her silk for a charcoal gown
Under the shadow of the stone-faced hill
She learned how to bend without breaking her will
They heard the hammer on a heavy steel chain
She bought back the breath of the children of pain
[Chorus]
[full band enters, vocal harmonies]
Oh feel the wind in the Philodee
A fire on the water, a light in the clay
She's building a harbor where the broken can hide
Turning the clock and the turning of tide
From the schoolhouse floor to the honeybee hive
Keeping the spark of the spirit alive
Keeping the spirit alive
[Verse 2]
[acoustic guitar and bass continue]
In the cellar the loom is a rhythmic beat
Weaving a future that's heavy and sweet
She taught them the needle, she taught them the wing
While deep in the dark, the white honey would sting
No gold in their pockets, just skill in their hand
A hospital gate for the sick of the land
[Chorus]
[vocal harmonies]
Oh feel the wind in the Philodee
A fire on the water, a light in the clay
She's building a harbor where the broken can hide
Turning the clock and the turning of tide
From the schoolhouse floor to the honeybee hive
Keeping the spark of the spirit alive
Keeping the spirit alive
[Bridge]
[organ pad swells]
The tunnels of marble lead out to the sea
Escape from the shadows for the souls who would flee
For the women who bore what no human should bear
She was the ghost of a mother, the ghost of a prayer
But iron gets hot when you hold it too long
And power don't like when the weak grow too strong
[Chorus]
[vocal harmonies, driving rhythm]
Oh feel the wind in the Philodee
A fire on the water, a light in the clay
She's building a harbor where the broken can hide
Turning the clock and the turning of tide
From the schoolhouse floor to the honeybee hive
Keeping the spark of the spirit alive
Keeping the spirit alive
[Outro]
[music softens]
They took her at evening in the mud in the dark
But you can't kill a prairie just by snuffing the spark
[acoustic guitar fades]