“Thousand Yard Stare” by Conor Miley – A Song Feature

 

     Similar to the flow of a river that sweeps through various terrains, “Thousand Yard Stare” has a continuous forward flow, but the current varies spectacularly. The atmospheric intro for the song from Conor Miley is characterized by a gradual build to purposeful vocals describing a distressing scene. Then, just before the one-minute mark, “Thousand Yard Stare” gradually crescendos to a percussion-driven change in course – specifically, the instruments drop away as the song morphs into an a cappella chorus.
 
     The chorus is the “testimony of a thin man,” which is presented in a vocal presentation that is not easily understood, but is worth the effort. Fortunately, the Bandcamp site of the song includes the testimony:

"I'm a helmsman plotting out a course through a raging cyclone in a dreamland,

I'm a nomad rambling in a wasteland,

A conman singing from a bandstand,

A programme of temperamental plans neatly wrapped in my pocket,

And the Tin Man's living in a world of pain."

 

     Conor Miley provides some insight into “Thousand Yard Stare” by explaining that it is "about the anxiety felt by someone living with an anxious attachment style in a romantic relationship." He expands:
  “This song was originally written on a guitar. I set about creating a dramatic composition built on 13th chords and orchestrally influenced percussion. Referencing the manic inner talk that anxiety creates, I performed the choruses as a cappella vocal harmonies. The gospel-influenced finale to the song provides an optimistic and hopeful conclusion to the emotional turmoil that has come before.”
 
     Highlights of the song include a trumpet-featured segment. Miley is a multi-instrumentalist based in Dublin, Ireland. For “Thousand Yard Stare,” he provided the vocals, electric guitars, piano, synths, organ, percussion, claps, and sampling. Paul Kiernan contributed the trumpets, while Niall Honohan added drums. The song follows “Father’s Day” as the second song that will be on an album scheduled for release on September 29, 2023. The promotional materials explain:
  “The single is an ideal snapshot of what’s to come on the album. The genre-bending, multi-layered compositions are of a spine-tingling quality, packed with dramatic twists and turns and scattered quiet moments that draw the listener in. A piece of work that could easily be regarded as his magnum opus and one of the best Irish debuts in some time.”
 
      “Thousand Yard Stare” by Conor Miley

Bandcamp: https://conorjmiley.bandcamp.com/
Significant links: https://linktr.ee/conorjmiley

     The mesmerizing video was directed by Michael-David McKernan whom Conor had previously worked with on the Father's Day video.
  “For Conor’s second video we had the distinct pleasure of working with Dr. Count Evil who is simply an incredible performer. There is such an amazing energy and pain in the performance that resonates beautifully with the song. Conor’s music has a wonderful theatricality and grandness to it, so coupling that with Dr. Count Evil’s imagination made for a perfect match. There’s a feeling of entrapment and restlessness that pops off the screen, which mirrors the themes of heartbreak that Conor’s song explores."

Lyrics of “Thousand Yard Stare” (“Testimony of a Thin Man”) by Conor Miley
I was singing here when the hangman came,
He coloured his eyes sloe-black,
Arranged a lasso from a web of tangled chains,
Poured a drink in the recess of the bar,
And took aim.
 
And in the midst of all this chaos she idles in,
Like some divine show,
And everything explodes in me,
I'm a loony bin,
I'm a bumbling drunk on a carousel.
 
But then something stirs, something jars the scene,
I wasn't looking for Death but Death found me,
He was hanging out from a cypress tree,
Heaving scorn down upon me like some hazing ceremony.
 
Testimony of a thin man:
"I'm a helmsman plotting out a course through a raging cyclone in a dreamland,
I'm a nomad rambling in a wasteland,
A conman singing from a bandstand,
A programme of temperamental plans neatly wrapped in my pocket,
And the Tin Man's living in a world of pain."
 
So, my lover took a blade to the doctrinaire,
The phony saint with his heart ensnared
In the haze inside a thousand yard stare,
It was the final act of a love affair.
 
She wasn't looking for Death but Death still came,
It was a sorry show,
It's a crying shame
That she lost her mind,
But she found her faith
In some safe sanctuary,
Wild and free.
 
Testimony of a thin man:
"I'm a helmsman plotting out a course through a raging cyclone in a dreamland,
I'm a nomad rambling in a wasteland,
A conman singing from a bandstand,
A programme of temperamental plans neatly wrapped in my pocket,
And the Tin Man's living in a world of pain."
 
Well, they told me to sell my rack and woe,
(Sell it down the river)
Sold to the meddling crowd in the bordello,
(Sold down the river)
And they told me to sell my dearest friends
(Sell them down the river)
To a coterie.
 
See, now and then
(Sell it down the river)
I will sell my heart and I'll sell my soul,
(Sell them down the river)
I'll sell my will, I'll sell my home,
(Sold down the river)
But I'm not selling the part where I keep her whole,
(Sold down the river)
That's my own sanctuary,
It harbours me.