William Fitzsimmons, The Sparrow and the Crow

     Singer-songwriter William Fitzsimmons says this about his beautiful album The Sparrow and the Crow:

Love is a wonderfully fragile and yet exceedingly weighty thing. And although we must carry the hurt we cause another, we are likewise able to always retain the love that is given to us and the love that we unreservedly give away. And so, it is my sincere wish that the listener will find in these songs a small portion of caution, and a large measure of hope.

     One phrase in that passage rings so clear for me: "we must carry the hurt we cause another." How true that is, for me and also for him. For you see, each track on this album is imbued with some sort of pain. Some of it is on the surface, easy to touch and in plain sight. Some of it is buried much deeper, but it's there.

     But there's also "a large measure of hope," so don't be dismayed. The song "Just Not Each Other" is a touching example of that. He sings "We will love again, just not each other . . . "

     There's an intimacy and honesty to these songs that not a lot of songwriters feel comfortable revealing, but Fitzsimmons doesn't shy away from it. He takes his former relationship and holds it in his hands, cradling it and examining it from all sides. He takes responsibility, he asks for forgiveness, he wishes he'd done things differently, he recognizes the good and the bad and in the end he finds hope for what comes next.  

William Fitzsimmons--"If You Would Come Back Home" mp3 off The Sparrow and the Crow (buy)

     Joining William on this record are Priscilla Ahn and Caitlin Crosby. Their vocals add an extra measure of beauty to an extraordinarily gorgeous album. It comes out Sept. 30th. I highly recommend it.

drawing by Jenny Ross

tags: william fitzsimmons  

links: digg this    del.icio.us    technorati