THE DAY AFTER EVERYTHING CHANGED
By Ellis Paul

It was like a hummingbird
flew through the air between us
Bringing a promise from your lips to mine
a sweet honey kiss,
like none I'd ever tasted
Straight to my head like wine
I carried home the rush, the crush
your touch still burning on my skin
I'm falling in where I stop and you begin

Leaves they fall
a clock is turning on the wall
Colors change
Iron rusts
You can trust
that you'll never be the same
'cause it's the day after everything changed

Behind the walls are cracks
and truths that will reveal us
Like water breaking stone
buckets of rain have fallen
in the sheets between us
We lie together
We lie alone

So what is Beauty?
What is broken?
Has it faded now unspoken?
A crack in the window pane
can break the world in two

Leaves they fall
a clock is turning on the wall
Colors change
Iron rusts
You can trust
that you'll never be the same
'cause it's the day after everything changed

After everything changed
Everything changed
Iron rusts
you can trust
that you'll never be the same
'cause it's the day after everything changed

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The first time Elaine and I heard this song was October 20, 2007 at Canal Street Tavern in Dayton, Ohio. He introduced the song as one of two songs he’d written about the Japanese philosophy of Wabi-Sabi. Celebrating beauty and frailty. I was captured by the song immediately.

I next heard Ellis play this song on two YouTube videos in early 2008. I tried very hard to figure out how to record the audio from YouTube on my computer. I can’t remember exactly what I did, but eventually I figured out a way to lift the audio and then I could listen to it on constant repeat.

I really couldn’t wait until the next time we saw Ellis in April of 2008 at Shank Hall in Milwaukee. I requested the song and he went to the piano and started to play “If I Could Catch the Rain”. When he started playing that song he said “This isn’t the song you requested!” Well, he went ahead and finished that song and came right back to my request. I was thrilled. And I was moved to tears. It’s such a lovely song and really plays with ones emotions.

As with another song on this album, Elaine and I have a preference to the way it was originally played. We prefer “Bringing nectar from your lips to mine” rather than “a promise”. And Ellis has been kind enough to play it that way on occasion when we are at his shows.

I was also thrilled to find out that Ellis had chosen this song to be the title track to his new record. When we talked to him in Milwaukee he was talking about what was going to be on the new record and when I asked about this song he didn’t think it would make the cut. And here it is! Front and Center!

And when I think about my life, I think about how everyday can be The Day After Everything Changed. And while that might be a bit melodramatic, there are times when I can really identify with what it’s all about.

And Ellis blessed Elain and I to be one of the very first people to hear the song two days after it was recorded in Nashville. I’m grateful for the opportunity that he gave me to listen to it. And I think his traveling buddy was grateful, too, to get it out of the car for 24 hours so that he could listen to something else for awhile. Am I right, M.C.?

Perhaps I’ve said enough for now.

Take care. I look forward to what y’all have to say.
db

Nice start to the SOTW Dean. Thank you so much. Love the back stories.

Coming to mind for me after reading:

You can't cross the same river twice.

and

Every time you walk out of a room the next time you enter that room again you are a changed person. I thought that was kind of silly until I stepped out of the kitchen onto the front porch for a few minutes and while out there I probably had a half dozen things on my mind which I probably attached some quick fix bookmark to or woulda coulda shoulda mindset to ~ SO MUCH to the point that when I re-entered the room I'd left only minutes before I had the overwhelming sense that, in fact, I was changed. Things change. Life happens. There's got to be a morning after. We are not immune to changes that happen to us, friends, family, fellow men and women. To that point, you could, if you chose to, apply the sentiment to aspects of this american life. The changes. Good lord, the changes. Job loss. Economy. Beyond our woes, of course, Haiti.

Nice post Dean, I didn't realize that about the song not almost making the cut. The same thing happened with Speed Of Trees and of course that became the title track too. That is great that you got an early early copy of it.. Ellis refers to this song as the grown up version of a Wabi Sabi song. I really like that message, old and comfortable is beautiful etc.. ( I like the kids Wabi Sabi song too) !! Ellis blogged about what this song means and I had a completely different take on it, I mentioned it to him once.. of course he says that is fine..

When I first heard the recorded version of this song it was an early cut (pre-release) and I have to be honest and say that whilst I loved the lyric and the song's sentiments, I thought that it was over produced. There was just too much in the way of instrumentation going on, drowning out the vocal, for me. I like my music pared down!

Happily, it seems that the final CD version has been toned down production wise, at least it sounds to me as if it has and I prefer the finished version OR maybe I'm imagining things and have just got used to the CD version.

Has Ellis ever sung this and Wabi-Sabi as a medley/segueway in live shows? I'd love to hear that one day i.e. the children's song/the adult song.

Dean I'm with you on 'nectar' vs 'promise'

Jela

Folks,

The overall "feel" of this song - if you simply let yourself be enveloped in the sounds - is beautiful to me. I especially love the quietly thumping bass line. (Transports me back to Translucent Soul days.) Could do without the drums....no surprise there. If I dwell too much on the lyrics, what seemingly starts out as a happy LCE (life changing event) turns sad. The lines:

buckets of rain have fallen
in the sheets between us
we lie together
we lie alone

are just heart-wrenching.

A hummingbird transporting nectar was perfect. Just looked at the liner lyrics and notice that the following line says it was a sweet "mystery" kiss. I guess mystery goes with promise....like honey goes with nectar....but I've only ever heard EP sing "honey".

"you can trust that you'll never be the same" suggests growth....as often results after a LCE.....so that's something positive to hold onto.

KarenZ