One Part Lullaby is both a 1999 album by the Folk Implosion and the title track from that record. The title and opening line to the song are both taken from Oscar Wilde, who, according to www.folkimplosion.com, once said "Life is one part lullaby, two parts fear." Here are the lyrics to the title track.
One part lullaby, two parts fear
Another animal mixing with the atmosphere
It takes forever to learn to pretend
Nature is the enemy, weather is not your friend
Who can be trusted?
With perfect weather inside
Look for magic in the daily routine
It's all it takes to survive
Leaving heaven below
Go wherever the angels follow
I'm watching my body and mind divide
Why live for a future that never arrives on time?
I can't be trusted, I'm dust in the wind
I let the weather decide where my day begins
I'm not a rebel or the natural one
I'm in love with the chemical
Following the setting sun
Lost my patience
All that it takes to survive
Watching my mind and my body divide
Why live for a future that never arrives on time?
Leaving heaven below
Go wherever the angels follow
One Part Lullaby, Two parts fear
Another animal, mixing with the atmosphere
One part lullaby, two parts fear
I'm watching my body and mind divide
Why live for a future that never arrives on time?
In all honesty, I don't know for sure what the song is about. I have strong suspicions, though, that it is the ballad of a drug addict (I'm in love with the chemical/following the setting sun) who dispassionately watches himself fall apart (Lost my patience/All that it takes to survive/Watching my mind and my body divide/Why live for a future that never arrives on time?). It also carries an undertone of sadness for self-control lost, and most of its flight imagery is used to reinforce the image of the dissolved man (I can't be trusted, I'm dust in the wind/I let the weather decide where my day begins) being blown out of the range of salvation (Leaving heaven below, go wherever the angels follow) by the weather, which, after all, is not your friend.
In conversation with justabot, he mentioned the possibility that the song was about living and working in Los Angeles. In many ways this makes more sense than my own interpretation, but there are still things about the song that it, too, fails to capture, I think. Perhaps the true meaning of the song would be best captured by saying that it incorporates both themes to add up to a layered whole.
One of the main reasons that I don't know what the song is about is that the music itself is so captivating that it allows me to enjoy the song so thoroughly on that level that I've never really thought about the meaning of the words (also, the lyrics aren't printed in the CD insert). In fact, I'll go out on a limb here and say that the Folk Implosion has surpassed in musical artistry all of their previous efforts with this one. Although the lyrics of the songs are expertly crafted and poetic, a person such as myself can easily get so caught up in the pure pleasure of the music that he may forget to pay attention to the words. The emotional tone of the instruments fits the lyrics of the songs perfectly: plaintive, absurd, grand, soothing, and profoundly moving. Additionally, the electronically added bits like the choruses throughout the album and the warbly voice effect (for lack of a better term) on E.Z.L.A. are perfectly executed. Rather than being heavy-handed like some other groups that have tried to incorporate unorthodox instruments, each instance is perfectly calculated not to say, "Hey! We use sampling and electronic instruments!" but instead to subtly reinforce the themes, both musical and lyrical, that are already in the songs.
I apologize if I gushed a bit there, but this became one of my favorite albums within about eight seconds after putting it into my car's CD player for the first time. I guess it goes without saying that I recommend it heartily.
Here is the track listing for the album:
My Ritual
One Part Lullaby
Free To Go
Serge
E.Z.L.A.
Mechanical Man
Kingdom Of Lies
Gravity Decides
Chained To The Moon
Merry-Go-Down
Someone You Love
No Need To Worry
Back To The Sunrise