In the song “Whiskey Garden,” the charm of the instrument and the gentleness in the vocals fashion an elegant vehicle, with dark tinted windows that conceal its lyrical passenger. As her performance moniker clearly reveals, EllaHarp is a harpist. The beauty of the instrument is on display in “Whiskey Garden.” It is only when a listener intentional takes notice of the lyrics that the darker side of the single exits from the shadows. The song is about “John Doe the bookkeeper,” who has turned to alcoholism and disillusionment of the American dream.
The lyrics are intelligent and deserve attention. The most insightful but discouraging line is the final one in the verse, which we interpret as a reference to working hard every day, but still just teetering on the edge:
Push all your papers and blink
The machine is just a chain and he's just another link
Push all the days of your life and never leave the brink
EllaHarp is Ella Dawn Jenkins, a harpist, vocalist and songwriter based in the San Francisco Bay Area (Half Moon Bay). “Whiskey Garden” is the fourth single from EllaHarp's sophomore album “Screaming Into the Void,” which is scheduled for release in late 2020. The single was produced and recorded by Andrew Heringer in Los Angeles.
“Whiskey Garden” by EllaHarp
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ellaharpmusic/
Website: https://ellaharp.com
Bandcamp: https://ellaharp.bandcamp.com/
Lyrics of “Whiskey Garden” by EllaHarp
One fine summer in May
John Doe the bookkeeper working all for his pay
Work all your weeks and months and your years away
Push all your papers and blink
The machine is just a chain and he's just another link
Push all the days of your life and never leave the brink
So he'll grow whiskey garden
Grow gold like a field of rye
He'll grow whiskey garden
Go broke like a wheel of lies
Go back home to his small apartment
Dishes and newspapers bills that he never sent
Sit in your corner and think of all the money you spent
On your whiskey garden
Grow gold like a field of rye
Your whiskey garden
Go broke like a wheel of lies
And it never ends
The bottle and the coffin are your only friends
Your only friends
One fine summer in May
John Doe the bookkeeper working all for his pay
Work all your weeks and months and your years away
On your whiskey garden
Grow gold like a field of rye
On your whiskey garden
Go broke like a wheel of lies
He'll grow whiskey garden
Grow gold like a field of rye
He'll grow whiskey garden
Go broke like a wheel of lies
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