“Linin' Up” by Matt Millz – A Song Review

     “Power of the Written Word” is a book that dates back to 1945 (we had to look it up). This post is about the power of the sung syllable. The first time we heard “Linin’ Up” by Matt Millz, we weren’t paying close attention, but did appreciate the quality of his voice and the gentle guitar play. Then, all “oo” broke loose.

     Our best guess is that “Linin’ Up” is a song about a failed relationship. The “sugar house” represents the relationship. But the powerful hook that pulls a listener into the song is the chorus, although it’s simple enough – a repeating pattern that uses only the syllable “oo” (in sets of five). For us, the power of that syllable is twofold – it caused us to give full attention to the song and, when we considered joining the singing, it caused us to immediately recognize that some people are vastly more skilled when it comes to singing. There’s a purity in the vocals of “Linin’ Up” that we can’t approach.

     Matt Millz is from Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories. According to some sources, he is now based in Vancouver.

     “Linin' Up” by Matt Millz

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattmillzmusic

Website: http://www.mattmillz.com/

Lyrics of “Linin’ Up”

The sugar house is burnin’ down

Fire runnin’ all about

A moment to go, I need to slow down

Bodies layin’ on the ground

No one can know, I needed to go

Oh how you lay, oh how you lay

Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo, Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo

Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo, Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo

The sugar house is fallin’ down

And you’re the only one around

With nothing to show, I needed to know

Oh how you lay, I needed to know, oh how you lay

Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo, Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo

Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo, Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo

Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo, Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo

Oooooooooh

Oh how you lay, oh how you lay

Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo, Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo

My love was dressed in white again

I know I’ll be linin’ up, I know I’ll be linin’ up

And I know I’ll be linin’ up

Released: November 24, 2014

Written and Recorded by: Matt Millz and Nygel Asselin

Produced, Engineered and Mixed by: Nygel Asselin

Mastered By: Jeff Dalziel