song: Strawberry Morning

first song from the new album

I wrote this one last November, after stepping out for a short walk into all the brisk color of autumn…

the lyrics + some musings below:

strawberry morning
I go out walking
the fading of autumn 
reminds me of something

losing our daylight
to the blue of the evening
why does it always 
remind me of something

and why do I hide from it
yet I’m drawn to it

the comfort of laughter
when we’re together
why does it always 
remind me of someone

the way that I miss you
when I’m not with you
why does it always 
remind me of something

and why do I hide from it
yet I’m drawn to it

what is this ache that I feel
in the pit of my soul
I must need you more than I know

a voice in the hallway
calling my name
why does it always 
remind me of something

—ZW

the first stanza, along with the seed of the melody, came to me that chill morning, and I went to the other room to sit with it and see what it had to say... I don’t usually write songs in one go—usually it’s two or more goes… but in this one, I felt like it was giving voice to so much of my autumnal sehnsucht…

when I was growing up, I heard that my name meant “remembered by God”… a focus on me. but a few years ago I learned that “Zakarya” more likely means “God is remembered”—zakar meaning remember, and ya being God or Yah[weh]. as someone prone to lick his own wounds, it was so liberating to see it—my name and identity—the other way around… like tunneling, looking for something, and a light comes shining through and exposes a vein of gold running alongside the tunnel… I feel meant to bring remembrance, to remind, to arouse (and I love the Spanish rendering “recordar”, which is like again, to the heart)… I hope this song carries some of that for you.

musically, this was the first song where I collaborated with my friend Luke Skaggs, who plays the strings and the gut banjo on this song, and who shows up many times throughout this new album. I sang some of the arrangement and he embellished and made it beautiful. the rest (piano, guitars, vocals, etc.) was recorded in our home, while the fam was out. oh, and the percussion is all from my sternum and a very flannel-y shirt…

maybe lemme know images, thoughts, things it brings to mind for you? hope you enjoy and resonate with it.

peace,
Zach/Zakar-ya